'We rode him to run well and nicked the lot' - Harry Cobden left smiling as Red Risk springs 22-1 surprise in £100,000 prize

Fresh from saddling his 50th winner at the Cheltenham Festival, Paul Nicholls landed the feature hurdle on Midlands Grand National day with Red Risk.

The trainer reached a major milestone when Caldwell Potter struck in the Jack Richards on Thursday, and he brought that winning form to Uttoxeter to take the £100,000 prize with the teak-tough Red Risk.

It looked for much of the closing stages as if Nicholls' former assistant Dan Skelton, who himself landed the Turners Novices' Hurdle on Wednesday with The New Lion, would be first past the post with Joyeux Machin.

The 3-1 favourite led after the second-last hurdle but began to flag on the run-in and was pipped by Harry Cobden and Red Risk, who defied odds of 22-1 to score by a neck. 

"He was brilliant, wasn't he?" the winning rider said. "His last run at Musselburgh was very good, and I just thought off his mark of 137 he'd have a little chance. I wasn't quite sure he'd be good enough to win, but we rode him to run well and ended up nicking the lot.

"Joyeux Machin was all over us jumping the second last and then he basically stopped. We've come with a wet sail after the last and done him on the line. I'm a very happy man!"

Caldwell Potter: expensive purchase landed the Jack Richards on ThursdayCredit: Patrick McCann

Cobden, who was out of luck in the day's highlight with Ioupy Collonges, is still basking in the glory of his festival win on Caldwell Potter.

"I've looked back on the video a few times," he said. "I couldn't have had a better ride if I'd tried to do it again. When you go to Cheltenham in a 20-runner novice handicap lots can go wrong, I could have lost my race at the start because it was a standing start, but he just bucked out and never saw another horse."

Skelton repeat

Dan Skelton and his brother Harry had already visited the winner's enclosure before Joyeux Machin's defeat, as Hidden History registered a comfortable win in the opening 2m4f handicap hurdle. It was the trainer's second success in the race in as many years following Santos Blue's strike a year ago.

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