JAMIE Codd and Gordon Elliott recorded their 50th point-to-point success together in the spring of 2017 when Rapid Escape ran out an impressive 10-length winner of a four-year-old maiden at Tinahely. He was then sent to the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham Festival Sale by owner Christopher Donnelly and was the most expensive of Elliott’s buys at £240,000.

This was hardly a surprise when you consider what Peter Flood, representing the connections, said after the gelding’s debut win: “This lad is very good. He’s straightforward and high on the list at home as he’s a very good jumper.”