QUEL Destin continued his rise through the ranks with a battling success in the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Having run out a facile winner at Kempton last month, the Paul Nicholls-trained three-year-old took a step up to Grade 2 company in his stride when getting the better of a late battle from the back of the last to defeat Cracker Factory by a length and a quarter.

The winner was introduced at 25/1 for the Triumph Hurdle with Coral, while Paddy Power and Betway went 20/1 and 16/1 respectively for the same race.

Nicholls said of the 100/30 scorer: “I was hopeful he would beat the Jane Williams horse (Montestrel), who beat him first time out at Chepstow), but I don’t think that horse has run it’s race at all.

“He improved enormously from Chepstow to Kempton and he has improved again from Kempton. He is a strong stayer and he jumped well. I always thought he had a good chance today, as if they went a bit quicker it would do him no harm.

“He will go to Doncaster next month (Grade 2 Summit Juvenile Hurdle), then we will make a plan. We’ve got the Grade 1 at Chepstow as well and he wouldn’t mind the bottomless ground there, we know that wouldn’t be an issue. He will need a holiday at some point.”

A rematch on Town Moor with Cracker Factory could be on the cards, according to his trainer Alan King.

He said: “I was very pleased with him and there are no excuses. It was probably his best run yet. I thought going to the last he would probably win, but Paul’s horse just kept finding.

“I’ll probably keep him ticking over and go to Doncaster next month. If he doesn’t, he will have a break and be back in the spring.”