NOT So Sleepy ran his rivals ragged with a tremendous all-the-way win in the Grade 3 Betfair Exchange Trophy Handicap Hurdle at Ascot.

Successful over the course and distance four weeks earlier, Hughie Morrison’s seven-year-old made the most of his light weight to romp home in the hands of Jonathan Burke.

The only serious worry his supporters had was when he almost tried to run out at a flight halfway through the race, an obstacle at which Zanza and Quoi De Neuf both came down.

In an eventful renewal, Richard Johnson made a remarkable recovery to stay on Crooks Peak, who made a bad mistake at the second flight.

But it was all about Not So Sleepy (9/2 joint-favourite), who galloped on strongly to score by nine lengths from Monsieur Lecoq. Sir Valentine was four and a half lengths back in third place.

Morrison landed the equivalent of this event in 2001 with Marble Arch, who went on to finish runner-up to Hors La Loi III in the Champion Hurdle the following spring.

The East Ilsley trainer was quick to remark that might be same route followed by Not So Sleepy. He said: “He was rather amazing. It took my breath away. I thought he was going well round the bend.

“Jonathan has done a bit of schooling on him, Henrietta Knight has done a bit of schooling with him, though I didn’t think he jumped as well early on because of the ground. But he jumped fantastically at Henrietta’s last week, really proper, quick hurdling.

“Maybe it wasn’t a very good race, but he certainly won it well. He won the Dee Stakes in bottomless ground in 2015 and I suspect this was deeper, and he ran a big race on firm ground at Newmarket, poor boy – and how I possibly could have run him on that, is really rather embarrassing.

“He is a homebred and he has given us quite a lot of white hairs at home – he doesn’t want to do anything other than gallop.

“We won this race 18 years ago, not so easily, and ran again at Newbury and the horse disappointed, and then came second in a Champion Hurdle. You can only but dream that has to be the ultimate objective.

“He didn’t have a lot of weight, but he won with a stone in hand and he’s eight, so there is not a lot of point in messing around with novice handicap hurdles at Cheltenham any more, but he could run at Newbury of course.”

Regal Encore ground out a game success in an attritional race for the Listed Dave Dawes Silver Cup Handicap Chase.

Winner of this race in 2016, Anthony Honeyball’s 11-year-old pulled out all the stops in the stamina-sapping closing stages for Richie McLernon.

Black Corton made a brave effort from the front, but he had tough task under top-weight and it was those rivals towards the bottom of the handicap over three miles who came to the fore.

Acting Lass and Regal Encore (16/1) fought out a terrific finish, with the latter, owned by JP McManus, getting the verdict by three-quarters of a length. Jerrysback, also carrying the McManus colours, was two and a quarter lengths back in third and Black Corton fourth.

Honeyball said: “He is unbelievable. He has won this race twice, so that’s two £100,000 races and he won a £75,000 race, and his CV is cracking. He was second in a Champion Bumper, third in a Ladbrokes Trophy, placed at all the festivals – Punchestown, Cheltenham and Aintree – and he has been the most fantastic horse.

“It took him a while to live up to his billing, having been such a good bumper horse, but that can happen to a lot of them. He had a year where he wasn’t getting anywhere, but we always rated him and were keen to get him going over fences early in his career.

“He is not overly-big and he has run very well here, that’s for sure, and his CV says he has been good in a lot of places as well.

“But that was bonus country – I really didn’t expect that! This was a jackpot, but we could go down the Grand National route for sure. I would not say he would go on soft or heavy ground, but we can’t be too worried about that.

“He is creeping down a few pounds and was on 142 today, and to run in races like the National you have to maintain the level of form to get you in it.

“What a horse, though, when things are right for him, he takes advantage and I’m sure he reads the papers – he sees a hundred-grand race he seems to know what to do.”

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