Waiting Patiently gives Jefferson ideal send-off

● Ascot Chase loss for classy Cue Card

Waiting Patiently got the better of a protracted duel with Cue Card to claim a poignant success in an Ascot Chase that embodied everything that is great about National Hunt racing.

Despite being a dual winner of the two-mile-five-furlong Grade One, the Colin Tizzardtrained Cue Card was written off by some judges pre-race, with many expecting younger legs to take his measure.

However, reunited with Paddy Brennan, Cue Card proved he is no back number at the age of 12, making much of the running and jumping and travelling with the vibrancy that has made him one of the most popular chasers in training in Britain in recent years.

Waiting Patiently was unbeaten in five previous outings over fences and just a day after the funeral of his late trainer Malcolm Jefferson, he was the 2-1 favourite to make it six in a row in Berkshire.

Cue Card proved a willing opponent, but Brian Hughes delivered Waiting Patiently as late as he dared and pointed to the skies after passing the post two and three-quarter lengths to the good.

Ruth Jefferson, who only saddled her first winner at Kelso on Thursday after taking over the licence following her father’s death two weeks ago, said: “Dad would have loved to have been here, to see this horse remain unbeaten.

“He would have loved it and he would have been thrilled. He had a lot of belief in the horse and rated him very highly. No one would have been shouting louder as he crossed the line.

“This horse’s name does sum dad up, but he was named in Ireland before we got him. Dad did like to take his time and it has paid off.”

Waiting Patiently was cut to as short as 3-1 for the Ryanair Chase at next month’s Cheltenham Festival, but is by no means certain to head to the Cotswolds, with soft ground seen as a must. Jefferson added: “This could be his Cheltenham, because we don’t know what ground we are going to get. Even if we get soft ground, we might stop and think about it. We’ll probably confirm him and probably decide ten minutes before declaration time.

“There’s no point risking him. There are other places he can go – Aintree and Punchestown for instance. He would stay three miles, I think.”

Yala Enki (8-1), the only horse not entered for Aintree, won the Betfred Grand National Trial at Haydock for Venetia Williams and Charlie Deutsch.

Blaklion, ante-post favourite for the main event, was a yawning distance away in second, finding the concession of lumps of weight in the very testing ground just too much.

At Kempton this evening, Insomniac might be worth a chance in the 32Red Novice Stakes after a reasonable racecourse debut at the start of February.

He made a very slow start that day at Lingfield and gave himself far too much to do, but he still made some modest late headway to show that he might be capable of a win in due course.

Insomniac should at least be a bit more streetwise here and can make it second time lucky.