Pipe opens with a treble

Martin Pipe opened his Cheltenham account at the first time of asking as Mr Lamb, Daraydan and Bring Sweets gave him a treble on the track's opening day of the British 1999-2000 National Hunt season yesterday.

The trio, at odds of just over 21 to 1, were all partnered by Tony McCoy.

Mr Lamb cost Pipe patron David Johnson 125,000 gns - a record for a bumper horse - when bought out of Sally Hall's stable after winning a Musselburgh bumper last January.

The £4,071.50 first prize for the Racecourse of The Year Maiden Hurdle may represent only a fraction of the grey's purchase price but judged on his defeat of Pounsley Mill further instalments are on their way.

McCoy's mount was always travelling with fluency, and, when taking up the running at the last of the eight flights, pulled away to win by five lengths.

Pipe was attending Newmarket's Horses In Training Sales but Johnson said of the 4 to 6 winner: "He has jumped well at home, and now he has done it on the racecourse.

"There is nowhere better to do it than Cheltenham, and he probably does more at Pond House than he has done today."

Johnson's colours were back in the winner's circle after Daraydan had made all for the Cheltenham Handicap Hurdle, the seven-year-old fighting off four separate challenges from the second-last to beat Wisley Wonder by a length and a quarter at 7 to 1.

The owner was in no doubt as to the part played by McCoy, commenting: "The jockey has won us the race."

Bring Sweets completed the Pipe-McCoy treble when justifying odds of 4 to 6 with an all-the-way win in the Tim Emanuel Juvenile Novices' Hurdle.

The Sabrehill gelding, who is owned by Bill Gredley, is likely to comeback to Prestbury at the Murphy's Irish Craic fixture next month.