Handstands enhanced his glowing reputation with a Grade 1 win after taking the Virgin Bet Scilly Isles Novices Chase at Sandown on Saturday after seeing off the challenge of the odds on favourite Jango Baie in a pulsating finish by a short head under Ben Jones.

Victory provided trainer Ben Pauling with the perfect tonic after fellow Grade 1 novice The Jukebox Man was ruled out for the season this week with an injury.

Winning owner Tim Radford is keen to keep to the original plan by skipping the Cheltenham Festival and head up to Aintree in April.

"He's a proper horse," said Pauling. "It was a proper battle but I felt Ben was always going to hold on. It's been a bad week with what happened to The Jukebox Man but we're very fortunate to have two novice chasers of the same calibre."

Handstands is now looking bound for the 3m 1f Mildmay Novices Chase at Liverpool.

Pauling was quick to praise the owners after the race. "The Radford family are amazing to train for and we've got a plan for Handstands that we're going to stick to. We're going to Aintree and he's going to be better over further; he's a proper stayer who has speed as well."

In form trainer Olly Murphy continued his purple patch after Diamonds For Luck ran out a comfortable winner in the 2m novice hurdle opener on the card.

Coming to the last in the testing conditions which clerk of the course Andrew Cooper described as the “deepest he has ever known” Murphy’s six-year-old and Nicky Henderson’s Noble Park were neck and neck before Diamonds For Luck with Harry Cobden aboard pulled clear to score by 3 ¾ lengths.

The horse is owned by Diana Whateley and Murphy’s dad Aiden, with the Warwickshire trainer stating the horse arrived at his stable with a “big reputation”. The intended plan of action going forward will be an entry in either the Novice’s Championship Hurdle Series Final back at Sandown on the final day of the season or the conditional riders race at Aintree.

Murphy and Whateley teamed up for further success when Gunsight Ridge put a disappointing run at Kelso to one side to win the 1m 7 ½ furlong handicap chase under Gavin Sheehan who got the better of bottom weight Dr T J Eckleburg by ½ length.

Sheehan bagged a double after steering the nine-year-old O’Connell to victory in the 3m Masters Handicap Chase.

Despite being up 9lb, the gelding produced a career best to make it three wins in a row after the nine-year-old produced an excellent turn of foot in the heavy ground to overtake Dreaming Blue to the line to win by 2 ¾ lengths.

Red Dirt Road made all to win the £100,000 Heros Handicap Hurdle under Jonjo O’Neill for his father Jonjo senior.

The eight-year-old went up in trip but relished the extra distance to win by three lengths from Henri The Second.

Joint trainer Jonjo O’Neill who trains alongside his son AJ is already planning ahead for the gelding. "It's a nice pot to win for good owners who have been very patient," said O'Neill. "He loves really soft ground and Jonjo Jr said it felt like good ground on him.”

By Peter Moore