Owner Peter Luff had a more than satisfactory day and enjoyed his first double thanks to the victories of Bureaucrat and Calusa Caldera at Huntingdon. Luff’s first win was in 1986 when his horse West Trip won the Grand National and, despite the lower profile of the Cambridgeshire track, he showed great delight.

“I've owned horses for more than 30 years and this is fantastic. A win is a win, it doesn't matter where we get one, we get just as excited,” Luff said. “To have two here for my first double is lovely. I'm very grateful to Liam Norris, who buys all my horses including these two.”

Calusa Caldera took part in a race with a dramatic conclusion in which Lady Pilot took the front for a few moments before falling after the second last. Trainer Brendan Powell said Calusa would have fought to the end even if Lady Pilot had not been so unfortunate. “He is better dropped in but the one thing he will do is gallop,” the trainer said. “He could just be another West Tip - you never know!”

Bureaucrat, on the other hand, succeeded over Kickahead in the EBF Handicap Hurdle. The five-year-old, trained by Philip Hobbs, was head to head with Orpen Wide during the whole race to finally beat him.