July Flower remained unbeaten over fences when putting in some spectacular leaps in landing the Paddy Power Arkle Challenge Trophy Trial Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham.
The Grade Two contest was almost a duel throughout between the eventual winner and Dan Skelton's Be Aware, but July Flower's proven stamina and 7lb mares' allowance proved crucial up the hill.
With Champion Hurdle second Burdett Road unable to land a glove on the front two, it showed the pace they were going throughout and both horses look like taking much higher rank over fences than they did over hurdles.
July Flower's trainer Henry de Bromhead won the race in 2019 with another mare, Put The Kettle On, and she went on to win the Arkle itself in March.
With July Flower (6-5 favourite) having already won over two miles and three furlongs, it remains to be seen which route connections take, but she did not look short of speed, taking up the running from Be Aware approaching the last.
Darragh O'Keeffe kept her up to her work for a one-and-a-half-length win and she is 20-1 for the Arkle with Coral and Ladbrokes while Paddy Power make her a 7-1 chance for the Mares' Chase.
De Bromhead said: "I would hope she's an Arkle horse and that is why we came here, to find out.
"The two-and-a-half [mile] novice Grade One is gone and we wouldn't be going three miles, so it will probably be the Arkle.
"It's funny as I didn't actually think she was a two-miler until she won at Limerick - I always thought she was going to be two and a half to three, but the way she picked up there was incredible and she seemed great there.
"Leopardstown have put the race over two miles back on at Christmas so we can discuss it and see if we want to go there and it would look the obvious one."
Harry Derham's prolific One Horse Town bagged his fourth win of the season when making all the running in the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle.
Following wide-margin victories at Hexham, Stratford and Kempton, he was expected to find things tougher in Grade Two company.
Not many jumpers are sired by a Gimcrack winner, but One Horse Town is a son of one in Threat and his price now ranges from 16-1 to 25s for the Triumph Hurdle.
Paul O'Brien was allowed to do his own thing in front in the testing conditions and his superior jumping helped him to maintain his advantage.
One by one his rivals dropped away but Harry Skelton had been stealthily making ground from the rear on 9-4 favourite Precious Man, and he was still on the bridle approaching the final flight.
While it was arguably One Horse Town's worst leap of the race, it was still significantly better than the one produced by Precious Man who lost all momentum and in the ground could not get going again, eventually being beaten three and three-quarter lengths by the 100-30 winner.
Derham said: "When you start off at Hexham of course you don't expect to be getting quoted for a Triumph and winning at Cheltenham.
"When he was for sale Kevin Blake said 'buy him and he will be your first Flat winner and will then win the first juvenile hurdle of the season'. Kevin is a more intelligent man than me so it pays to listen.
"He won three on the bounce but it was absolutely impossible to know what he was achieving and he was beating inferior rivals really well.
"This was a fun place to find out how good he is and even if he wasn't up to the level, it would be a fun day out but now it's a particularly fun day out.
"My mum and dad are involved in this horse and Jonathan and Debbie Gregory who head up this syndicate are probably my biggest supporters and have a lot of horses with me and help get others involved. To have my parents involved as well is just a very happy bonus."
He is likely to return to Prestbury Park on Trials day as he bids to not only extend his winning run, but keep dreams of the Cheltenham Festival alive.
Local trainer Martin Keighley and his family roared home Hung Jury to win the Debenhams Amateur Jockeys' Handicap Chase.
With son Freddie now making good strides as a conditional rider, James King took over in the plate and gave the 10-year-old a patient ride to collect.
While the ground was perhaps not quite as testing as feared overnight, it nevertheless took some getting through but it proved no barrier to success for Hung Jury.
Winner of a hunter chase at the track in May, he was having just his sixth run under rules so remains unexposed in long distance chases.
King brought him into the race gradually but a slow jump at the last brought him back level with Cheerful Chap.
The 22-1 chance clearly has plenty of stamina, though, as he powered up the hill to win by three and three-quarter lengths from the staying-on Herakles Westwood.
