The Grade 1 tilt now calls for a handstand, after running off a clear winner in the DragonBet Towton Novices' Chase at Ffos Las to add another Grade 2 win to his CV.
Carrying a 5lb penalty for his win over the same level at Sandown in December, the Ben Bowling-trained gelding was in the lead after the flag fell alongside Cherry Dam.
The latter eventually dropped quietly after Handstands and Ben Jones took over in the race to the final fourth, which the even-money favorite was a bit slow.
Lord Of Thunder did a very good job of getting back into it and trying to go with it after being badly fouled by a falling Range, but Handstands always looked in control and immediately equalized after the last.
They were the only winners, in what proved to be a stressful affair.
“I was happy and we were learning a lot because we had never run on such slick, compact and hard-working ground before,” Bowling said.
“I heard the reaction and some people suggested he was a bit of a rookie, but I think he was just learning to get off the ground to be honest and put in a lot of effort and the duo swelled as a result.
Handstands is likely to head to Sandown on his next outing after his success at Towton
“In the end he did it very well, and Ben was happy with the way he jumped after he jumped in the ditch, so that's another step in the right direction. It looked competitive enough on paper, and I know there was some bad luck in the third and final spot.” . But I think they were all on the verge of expiration and maybe that was their downfall.
“I was very impressed with how well he did coming home, he just accelerated out of the corner and put the race on the brink, and after the last race he somehow accelerated again.
“Ben said he finished fresh as a daisy and doesn't think he had a particularly difficult race which is unusual considering the ground there today. I'm very pleased and this is another step on the way to a beautiful race.” “A progressive young novice stalker.”
Handstand can now relatively quickly return to action at Sandown on February 1 to move up to Grade One company in the Virgin Bet chase Scilly Isles Novices.
And with Bowling and the gelding's owners wanting to bypass the Cheltenham Festival and a potential clash with high-profile stablemate The Jukebox Man, the six-year-old could instead head to Aintree in the spring.
“It's a quick enough turnaround for the Isles of Scilly, but that will be very much on our minds if he comes out of this in good shape,” Bowling continued.
“The Radford family were never bothered about going to Cheltenham with him this year, they're not trying to avoid it, but they think the Isles of Scilly and maybe Aintree might be the way forward and I can't say I disagree with that.”
“If we can get to the Isles of Scilly in good form, he will be busy enough and this will be his fourth tour of the season and that to Aintree could cap off a really great season for him.”
He continued: “We've had some beautiful horses come to us, and we're lucky that their owners bought us these horses. So I have to say a really big thank you to them.”
“Of course I don't really want to go and face The Jukebox Man at Cheltenham, but if the Radfords want to go then I will. However, it's a nice position to be in so I can separate them.”
