Racing:Denman put up one of the best performances in recent memory to romp home under top weight in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury.
The Paul Nicholls-trained seven-year-old, last season's leading novice chaser, was barely troubled as he powered some 11 lengths clear under Sam Thomas at odds of 5-1.
Dream Alliance stayed on for a distant second, with Character Building and Madison Du Berlais claiming the minor places in a race that was all about Denman.
Thomas, deputising for the injured Ruby Walsh, has enjoyed an extraordinary week after scoring in the Betfair Chase on the winner's stablemate Kauto Star last weekend.
He told Channel 4 Racing: "I didn't think things could get much better after last weekend, but this fella is something else.
"They didn't go much of a gallop early on and I was surprised how settled he was — for his first run of the season I expected him to be keener and doing too much. But he's a different horse this time, he's so relaxed.
"I couldn't believe how strung out they were when I had a look round, I hadn't even got out of first gear at that stage."
Nicholls expects Denman to improve again.
He said: "He was fit enough to do himself justice and if he had been in the first five or six today, it would have been a huge run and he would have improved.
"I think he still will improve from today, but that was an awesome performance.
"Sam gave him a great ride. I told him to be fifth or sixth and if he bowls along in front then don't worry about it. I did say if he turned into the straight in front, he won't get beat from there."
Nicholls also paid tribute to Paul Barber, backer of his Ditcheat yard and joint-owner of Denman.
"Paul bought the horse with me and got Harry (Findlay) involved," he added.
"The first time we saw him in Ireland, we said we were going to have him and Paul deserves a lot of credit for putting a lot into the yard, buying horses like this and being patient."