Big-race reaction: Monkfish looks to have taken another step forward

There have been some very good winners of what for many years was staged as the Dr PJ Moriarty Novice Chase, but few will have combined the physical ability and apparent effortless jumping of Monkfish.

A drop in distance from his Grade 1 win at Leopardstown over three miles at Christmas was one question mark against him, while he hadn't always jumped arrow straight in earlier races over fences.

Both those doubts were dispatched with a performance that oozed class and had Paul Townend wondering during the debrief with his boss Willie Mullins whether Monkfish shouldn't already have been lining up later in the afternoon for the Irish Gold Cup.