Leading Irish amateur riders Jamie Codd and Barry O'Neill served up a battle royal in the closing stages of the National Hunt Challenge Cup over four miles at Cheltenham on Tuesday.

Codd prevailed by half a length as the Ben Pauling-trained Le Breuil (14/1) wore down Discorama (9/2) from Paul Nolan's stable. There was a yawning 47 lengths back to third-placed Jerrysback (16/1). Only four of the 18 starters completed.

The winner became Codd's eighth success at the Festival and his second in this race, and it came about after he put in a phone call to Pauling to ask if he might ride the horse.

Codd said: "I have to thank Niall Cronin [a friend of Codd's], who looked up this horse's form, and Tessa Greatrex [bloodstock agent and wife of trainer Warren] who I rang to get Ben's number. It has worked out brilliantly.

"Gordon Elliott had a ride in it for me but on Wednesday he said that one wouldn't run. Myself and Niall went through the form and we felt the race he ran against Santini at Newbury was good and we liked the way he galloped to the line at Haydock the last time he ran.

"He had a good rating and so we decided to ring Ben, who was very good. He just said, 'You won't let me down?' and I said 'No, that's 100%, I'll ride him'.

"What a tough little horse to jump and gallop in that ground. It was a fair slog and I'm delighted he's won for Ben and the team. I got a great run around and kept him very wide. Looking at the videos, he had been making the running, but I just felt he might be better with a bit of room and going forward from midway. Going to the last, it was nip and tuck, and my lad has really battled and pulled it out.

"I was very fortunate that Ben had no one to ride the horse - two days later he might have found someone else and I'd be sitting in the weighing room. They say that what's meant for you won't go past you."

It was a second Cheltenham win for Pauling, following the 2017 success of Willoughby Court, and it seemed to mean every bit as much as the first.

The trainer said: "I've got one thing in mind for this horse and that's the National next year, so let's hope he gets there in one piece. Winning here is just the best. We won here with Willoughby Court, but it's just as good second time around. It's incredible."

He added: "He was so gutsy there. That was very, very special. He jumped and he travelled, and with a circuit to go we knew we had a hell of a chance.

"Jamie Codd phoned up for the ride and thank God he did, because that was the icing on the cake and confirmed for us which race we were going for. He's one hell of a jockey, and hopefully it means as much to him as it does to us.

"That will be it for Le Breuil now."

NOLAN DISAPPOINTED

Discorama's rider O'Neill reflected: "It was a very tough run. My horse had a fall last time out and was a little bit novicey early on. He was thinking about it a bit. I had to avoid one or two fallers. I got in a little bit tight to the second last and then he gave the last a bit of height. He went down fighting - it was just unfortunate that we finished second."

Nolan commented: "You are always disappointed, it is like being beaten by a last-minute goal. I thought he was going to win and then he didn't.

"There were probably a couple of little things that happened - we were unfortunate not to get a racecourse school after his fall and I thought he was too novicey early on, which sapped his energy a little bit. I blame myself for that, we should have had that better covered. I don't think the ground was an issue - they were 47 lengths in front of the next horse. Our fella had to swerve out to avoid a couple of fallers which also saps energy.

"If you had told me before that we were going to be second at Cheltenham I would have been delighted but it is a devil when you think you're going to win and you don't.

"That race will have taken an awful lot out of him and he is going to come back light so you have to imagine that that is going to be the end of his season.

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