Uttoxeter welcomed British racing into the year 2000 and it was Mary Reveley, who put her name into the history books as Sad Mad Bad launched a 134 to 1 double for the Saltburn trainer in yesterday's opening ukbetting.com Handicap Chase.

While Alan Dempsey never gave up on Sad Mad Bad, it was Andrew Thornton who stepped in for the mount for the sidelined stable jockey Peter Niven on Merry Masquerade in the Ladbroke Handicap Hurdle.

Thornton, who was riding a first winner for the stable on the top weight, went on to land a double when Gill'mar, who came home a distance clear of the only other finisher, Ardent Oliver, in the Solomon Racing Analysis Handicap Chase.

Adrian McGuire was shaken up in a fall from Master Rastus in the Ladbroke race and gave up his subsequent mounts, though he was fit enough to drive home.

Trainer Paul Nicholls and jockey Joe Tizzard were quickly off the mark for the year with a double courtesy of Young Devereaux and Shotgun Willy.

Young Devereaux landed the Worthing Creamflow Novices' Chase in the manner you would expect of an odds-on chance and Tizzard enjoyed an equally-smooth passage on Shotgun Willy in the MGM Conservatory Furniture `National Hunt' Novices' Hurdle.

Nicholls, who feels Young Devereaux might have won on his previous outing at Chepstow had he not fallen, said: "He was caught out by the tricky downhill fence".