It's a brilliant birthday for the professor as Warthog steals the Caviar cash

It is entirely possible one of the two Davids had informed Warthog his joint-owner Professor Caroline Tisdall was celebrating her 74th birthday.

That might explain why the almost white chaser displayed a level of bravery never previously associated with him to win a Cheltenham feature he looked sure to lose.

Tisdall may or may not have unwrapped something lovely earlier in the day, but David Noonan and David Pipe gave her a gift more thrilling than she could possibly have imagined when the horse she shares with Bryan Drew rescued the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup from the fire.

"At the moment I'm shaking from head to foot," said Tisdall, whereas the connections of Spiritofthegames were probably shaking their heads, not because rider Bridget Andrews did anything wrong but simply because the 40-1 shot looked certain to land the £73,151 first prize when galloping past Warthog soon after the final fence.

In an extremely unexpected twist Warthog then galloped past Spiritofthegames close to the post, delighting those Betfair punters who took 710 in the closing stages.

Warthog jumps the final fence of the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup in front of SpiritofthegamesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Art aficionado Tisdall, the writer of many books and newspaper articles, knows all about words. In the minutes after this race an appropriate word for the professor would have been cock-a-hoop.

"I can't think straight," she said. "What a birthday present! I've never had one like that.

"It's just wonderful. It's like a massive injection of Dopamine and quite a few illegal things as well – not that I would know about them. There is nothing quite like it. You get a miniature version of it if you have a good bet come off as well."

Asked if she had just enjoyed such a bet, Tisdall responded in the affirmative before laughing heartily.

"That really was unexpected for us," she added, explaining that last month's BetVictor Gold Cup third almost ran in the 2m handicap chase earlier on the card.

"We couldn't decide which race to go for. It was this one, that one, this one, that one, and then we said: 'Oh, go on, let's go for the Gold Cup!'"

Caroline Tisdall (right) walks into the winner's enclosure with WarthogCredit: Edward Whitaker

Drew was among those pleased they did.

"I'm staggered," he said. "Last time here he ran out of gas, so we weren't sure this was the right race for him.

"Obviously it was, but when he came past us in the stands he was paddling and I thought he was going to be sixth. He has found another gear from somewhere, come back past Bridget Andrews and won the race."

Like Drew, Pipe's reaction suggested this had all come as rather a lovely surprise.

"In the past he hasn't been the strongest of finishers, and although the second has probably pricked his ears, our horse has kept galloping," said Pipe.

"He did very well first time out over fences last season but then his jumping went to pot. We did a lot of work on that and David Noonan gets on well with him.

"Even so, at the start of the day all we really wanted him to do was put two good runs together. He has definitely done that now."

Big-race joy for David Pipe again with WarthogCredit: Edward Whitaker

Sadly, Knocknanuss sustained a fatal injury at the tenth fence. His owners endured a horrible day.

Tisdall must have experienced similar in the past, but her passion for jumping is huge. "All I want to achieve in my life is to win the Grand National," said the owner of Aintree stalwart Vieux Lion Rouge.

"I don't think I'm going to manage it but I've had a wonderful run in the race. That's my very simple dream."

So why is she not dreaming that dream with Warthog? "I've never thought of him as being brave enough," she admitted.

After what he did up the sport's most famous hill, the birthday girl might have to revise that thought.

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