IT WAS a simple jump-round in the autumn sunshine for Crack Away Jack at Sandown Park yesterday but the mixture of relief and excitement on the English rose face of his trainer, Emma Lavelle, testified to the extent of her dreams.

Sent off the 1-5 favourite against a paltry two opponents on his chasing debut, the strapping five-year-old survived a couple of sleepy moments down the back straight to gallop home a comfortable winner and confirm his place at the head of the market for the Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

As Lavelle acknowledged, Crack Away Jack has a lot more to prove and even more to learn before he can take on such a lofty assignment, but the prospect of a duel between the best of the English novice chasers and Sizing Europe, comfortably the most promising of the Irish contingent, is still one to set the pulse racing for the coming months.

Allowed to establish his own rhythm by jockey Noel Fehily, Crack Away Jack lobbed along happily at the back of the field until a couple of mistakes at the Railway Fences persuaded Fehily to get serious.

“That was the most pleasing aspect of it,” said Lavelle. “Once Noel picked him up, he just took off.” Crack Away Jack hit the front at the Pond Fence and had settled the issue beyond doubt in a few giant strides.

“He’s a serious racehorse,” added Lavelle. “The quicker he went, the better he went. At this stage, he’s got the raw ability. He could be one of the best.” Next stop could be the Henry VIII Novices Chase back at Sandown in December, on the same card as the Tingle Creek, a race that Lavelle will surely target next season. For the moment, the big chaser remains a work in progress, but if the pace that carried him to fourth in the Champion Hurdle in March is matched by courage, athleticism and stamina, the qualities demanded of a top two-mile chaser, the crowd at Sandown may have witnessed the birth of a superstar.

Celestial Halo, second in the Champion Hurdle, made an impressive seasonal debut at Wincanton, despite the concerns of Paul Nicholls about the horse’s fitness. “I was very impressed with that because we’ve left plenty to work with,” said Nicholls, who later saw his Herecomesthetruth beat the Arkle winner, Forpadydeplasterer, in the Grade 2 Ladbrokes.com Chase at Down Royal.

Half an hour later, Ruby Walsh was picking himself up off the Somerset turf after falling from Gullible Gordon in the Novices Chase. The race was won by Red Admiral from Bakbenscher, the only other runner.

The racing authorities might want to know why, on a perfect day for jumping, two decent novice chases attracted just six runners.