Paddy Brennan rider of Poetic Rhythm © Photo Healy Racing
Poetic Rhythm ran out a game winner of the Grade 2 totepool Persian War Novices' Hurdle when holding off Amour De Nuit at Chepstow on Sunday.
Fergal O'Brien's 3/1 chance hit the front a long way out under Paddy Brennan and looked a sitting duck for much of the home straight.
Sam Twiston-Davies sat motionless on Paul Nicholls' Amour De Nuit and it appeared to be only a matter of time before he picked off Poetic Rhythm.
However, the six-year-old dug really deep to win by a length and a quarter. Vision Des Flos made a pleasing hurdling debut back in third against far more experienced rivals.
The likes of Silviniaco Conti, Fingal Bay and Blaklion are all on the recent roll of honour.
Brennan said: "When he came in from the field I said to Fergal the Persian War was the race for him, so it's good training.
"He's had a hard race today so it's important he has a few weeks to recover, it was a very good race today.
"I was in front too far out, but nobody could take me there any longer and I knew I had enough horse under me."
O'Brien told At The Races: "We came here last year and won the bumper with him and Paddy said early last season this is where we should come with him.
"We haven't thought beyond today.
"We'd always been looking at this race and it's worked out brilliantly.
"We'll probably look at taking him to Cheltenham for something at the November meeting."
At this early stage of the season Philip Hobbs already has the favourite for the Triumph Hurdle with Gumball (4/6 favourite) who took his tally to two from two in Britain in the Champion Hats Juvenile Hurdle.
While the Stratford race he won might not have taken much winning, there was strength in depth to this with Speedo Boy, rated 96 on the Flat, beaten a long way back in third.
Hobbs is not scared to run his juveniles, with Defi Du Seuil winning the Triumph on his sixth start of the season.
Gumball is 16/1 for the Triumph from 33s with BetVictor.
Hobbs said: "He's got a fair engine, I'm delighted. We knew he was pretty good but the race at Stratford was that bad it showed us nothing.
"We knew coming here we'd find out and if he got beat he'd only have one penalty.
"Apparently in his run in France he didn't jump so well, he was brilliant at Stratford but not so clever here but we'll get it together.
"There's the novice hurdle at Wetherby, the Wensleydale, that's the obvious one and then Cheltenham in November."
Alan King's Mia's Storm (9/2) was a very impressive winner of the totepool Supports Responsible Gambling Week Novices' Chase.
Making her chasing debut, Wayne Hutchinson oozed confidence and breezed past Elegant Escape on jumping the last.
"She's a decent mare and was very impressive on her last run over hurdles, but I've no plans at the moment. She's probably best fresh," said King.
Bob Ford, who specialised in winning at Ffos Las and Chepstow for former trainer Rebecca Curtis, landed the Bob Champion Cancer Trust Veterans' Handicap Chase for new handler Alistair Ralph in the colours of fellow trainer Dr Richard Newland.
Newland said: "He's the first horse I've had with someone else for 10 years. Alistair does a lot of the pre-training with our horses."
Romain De Senam absolutely bolted up when justifying (7-4 favouritism) in the John Ayres Memorial Handicap Chase for Paul Nicholls and Sam Twiston-Davies.
"I don't want to throw him in at the deep end too soon and there's a graduation chase at Kempton in November we'll aim him for before going into better handicaps in the spring," said Nicholls.
Harry Fry's Misterton (4-1) fended off all-comers to win a competitive totepool Live Info Download The App Handicap Hurdle for Noel Fehily.
