Cheltenham Festival options for Maasai Mara after an impressive opening of his hurdling account

Nick Scholfield let the odds-on favourite Golden Maverick make the running in the early stages before taking closer order on Massai Mara two out and going clear to score handsomely. Bought for 170,000gns out of the John and Thady Gosden yard, the winner was putting the experience gained from his debut second over jumps at Hereford to good use to score by seven and a half lengths. Scholfield said: “Fair play to John O’Shea and his staff. Maasai Mara felt to have improved his jumping since his debut.

He’s really putting it together now and could go for the Boodles at Cheltenham, for which he would need another run, or the Triumph.” The eight-year-old was backing up a recent shock 40-1 win at Wetherby, but was coming from the other end of the market for DJ Jeffreys when overcoming Beaumesnil by a short head at odds of 5-2. Not a Members’ Club Ultimate subscriber?