Racing: Master Minded was a brilliant winner of a dramatic race for the Seasons Holidays Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown.
The only real anxious moments the 4-7 shot suffered were when he had to jump over Fiepes Shuffle after the German raider fell at the first and then keep clear when the horse continued to run loose.
Master Minded, winner of the Queen Mother Champion Chase, was giving trainer Paul Nicholls his fourth success victory in the race and sixth in all, while it was champion jockey Tony McCoy's first.
Howard Johnson's Tidal Bay was 10 lengths back in second with Takeroc, also trained by Nicholls, third.
Fiepes Shuffle set off in front but unshipped Jamie Moore at the first, leaving Master Minded in front.
Tidal Bay, last season's Arkle Trophy winner, lost second place with some inaccurate jumping down the back where Mahogany Blaze made a bad mistake that ended any chance he had.
As the leaders passed the Pond Fence which should have been the third-last but was not jumped due to the low-lying sun, the three Nicholls-trained runners were dominating proceedings.
However, last year's winner Twist Magic fell two out leaving Tidal Bay to stay on and claim second place ahead of Takeroc, but nothing could compete with Master Minded who sealed victory with a great leap at the last.
McCoy said: "He deserves his rating. Obviously Moscow Flyer's the best two-mile chaser I've ever seen.
"This guy hasn't achieved as much yet, but it's only a matter of time. He's a good traveller, he's a good jumper and we spent the whole race worrying about the loose horse.
"He's a very good horse. I'm very lucky to be allowed to ride him, to be fair I think anyone could have ridden him, even Ruby (Walsh) and he's only half-fit - in fact I'm surprised he didn't try to!
Nicholls added: "I'm thrilled with that, there was a lot of pressure. A perfect start to the season for him.
"The loose horse wasn't good for the blood pressure, but they dealt with that and he won very nicely.
"He's only five and we'll look forward to Cheltenham again with him.
"Nothing's definite. I might run him in the Game Spirit at Newbury a month before, but whether we give him another run beforehand, possibly at Ascot, we'll have to see."
Johnson said of Tidal Bay: "He has run a good race, he has shown his battling qualities and we are over the moon with him. He stayed on well at the end and Denis (O'Regan) didn't punish him for second.
"I wouldn't think we would take on the winner again, we will keep well clear of him unless he has got some more lead under the saddle - about 20 stone of it!
"I was talking to Tony McCoy the other night after he had sat on Master Minded and he said we had got a jet on our hands if our horse beat him.
"I'm not afraid to run over two miles again so long as the winner isn't there, but I think we will step up in trip. He is in the King George but it might come a bit quick. The trouble is that we have been held up in the north with the weather. I don't mind working horses in the snow but you can't work them with all this ice about.
"We will give him a break and see. If he trains OK we will rest him for 10 days and then we will have a few more days to make up our minds."