Three fist pumps before the line as Jones continues a mighty run for Wales

It was a moment to savour, yet the moment could so easily have belonged to another. In the circumstances Ben Jones said all the right things, but to know how much he wanted this you simply had to ask what he was doing at 8am.

It was just before 8am that Newcastle announced the Fighting Fifth card had survived the weather. Had the meeting been abandoned Adam Wedge would have rerouted to Newbury and partnered De Rasher Counter in the Ladbrokes Trophy.

Newcastle's loss would have been Wedge's gain. Instead, Jones enjoyed by far the biggest win of his career.