Harry Derham thanks cousin Megan Nicholls after Givemefive makes winning debut for the yard

Harry Derham had his cousin Megan Nicholls to partly thank after Givemefive made a winning debut for the yard in the 2m½f juvenile hurdle.

The three-year-old was carefully selected by former jockey Nicholls, who took a shine to him when visiting Johnny Murtagh's yard in Ireland.

Speaking to Racing TV, Derham said: "He was well bought by Megan, who picked him out when she went to see him at Johnny's. She said he was a working man's Cliffs Of Dover [former smart Paul Nicholls runner] and I said that'd do for me."

After hitting the crossbar a number of times on the Flat in Ireland, Givemefive got off the mark at the tenth attempt in a Roscommon handicap in September.

Derham added: "He held modest form on the Flat, but we loved his last performance. He stayed going well and with a juvenile you need a horse who stays well.

"He's loved jumping from the start, which is a big advantage, and the form of his last race reads well, so we hoped he'd do that and he did it nicely."

Double delight

Sue Smith continued her impressive form as she enjoyed a 36-1 double, headlined by It’s Maisy at 12-1 in the 2m7f handicap hurdle.

The West Yorkshire-based trainer teamed up with jockey Nick Scholfield again when O’Connell justified favouritism in the 3m handicap chase.

Smith is operating at a 38 per cent strike-rate (3-8) in the past fortnight and saddles Burrows Diamond in the rearranged Listed Houghton Mares' Chase at Aintree on Saturday.

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