Adrien Du Pont ran his rivals into the ground with a smart performance off top weight in the Coutts Juvenile Handicap Hurdle as Paul Nicholls added another £25,000 to his tally in the fight to retain his champion trainers' title.
Nicholls is being pushed hard by Willie Mullins, but will have been able to enjoy the performance of Adrien Du Pont as the Grade One winner produced a towering performance under Sam Twiston-Davies.
Soon at the head of affairs, the four-year-old had a clear lead heading out with a circuit to run and that was only extended by the time the field jumped four from home.
Twiston-Davies had to organise the 13-8 favourite for the first time coming to the last, and while he was far from fluent at it he never looked like falling and eventually cruised to a six-length success from Oceane.
