Cardinal Hill winning was no surprise, Celibate scoring in the BMW Chase was a comparatively mild shock compared to Tearaway King's eclipse at 2 to 9 in the opener, but Ferbert Junior's success in the Bradstock Novice Chase took the breath away.

A horse with considerable talent, but also with a propensity for making howling errors at fences, Ferbert Junior looked to be in typical barnstorming form in the early stages of the £24,000 race.

Barry Geraghty sent him straight into the lead as the two favourites, Manus The Man and Micko's Dream, kept their powder dry in behind. Geraghty sat tight on numerous occasions as Ferbert Junior treated the obstacles with derision but the partnership was still intact as the race began to hot up. Only then did Ferbert Junior show what he is really capable of.

Micko's Dream launched a serious challenge at the third last but, contrary to character, Ferbert Junior put in a flying leap and never looked in danger as he proved equally effective over the last two.

"He'll be kept to fences next season and I'll expect to have a nervous breakdown!" said a delighted trainer Jessica Harrington, who insisted that Ferbert Junior's jumping is improving.

"I don't want to watch him much but he is getting better and they can't get near him if he stands up. Barry did a brilliant job and the mistake he made at the last fence on the first circuit probably helped him because he concentrated more. But he is a young man's ride," added Harrington, who believes her flying grey could stay three miles next season. Something for most of us, if not the jockey, to look forward to.

Celibate was another all-the-way winner but had to battle much harder to hold off Ferbert Junior's stable companion Space Trucker and the favourite Direct Route in the closing stages.

"This is such a hard and tough little horse and he deserves this. I'm more pleased for him than me," said Lambourn trainer Charlie Mann.

Harrington was delighted with Space Trucker's effort and said: "This proves he is up to this company. If he had jumped the last here the way he jumped the last at Cheltenham it might have been a different story."

Cardinal Hill will be kept to hurdling next season as a back-up for the champion Istabraq. Noel Meade's sparkling novice was an easy winner of the Country Pride Champion Hurdle from stable companion Greenstead after running lazily for Charlie Swan, deputising for Paul Carberry.

"We've been trying to get him to relax and he got very relaxed out there but Charlie said he had loads left," said Meade, who added: "Obviously he won't be meeting Istabraq next season but he will be in the wings if anything happens to him. The new race at Down Royal could be an early target but he is off for the summer now."

Tearaway King couldn't recover from a last fence blunder in the Ladies Cup as Digacre and 21-year-old Aonghus McNamara held on to win by a head. It was a sweet victory for Curragh permit holder Marie Barnwell who had been placed in the race on numerous occasions and had been trying to win the race since 1985.

Willie Mullins saddled three of the first five home in the Evening Herald Handicap Hurdle but it was his Mary's Manna who came out best, giving Ruby Walsh his 85th winner of the season.

John Egan was the toast of bookmakers at Nottingham yesterday after stealing a victory aboard Clued Up. In a slowly-run event, he cleverly quickened the pace with two furlongs to go in the `Come Racing at Nottingham' Fillies' Handicap, to catch out the joint-favourites Celestial Welcome and Top Jem.Clued Up, carrying 4lb overweight for the services of Egan, soon established an unassailable lead. At the line the 100 to 30 chance was three lengths ahead of Celestial Welcome with Top Jem the same distance back in third.Sean Woods has made a bright start to the campaign and he registered his sixth success as the tail pushing Leave It To Me held off Redouble in the Levy Board Handicap.Frankie Dettori won on Barringer in the First Every Time Stakes. The 8 to 1 chance merely had to be pointed in the right direction and cruised home by two lengths from Distinctly Well.