Imperial Cup victory for Paintball sets up Cheltenham Festival bonus

Paintball sprang a 20-1 shock in the Imperial Cup here on Saturday to put punters on the back foot for the start of Cheltenham Festival week. The five-year-old gave his trainer, Charlie Longsdon, the biggest success of his six-year career and will attempt to earn a £75,000 bonus from the sponsors, Paddy Power, by following up in Cheltenham's County Hurdle on Friday. At last year's Festival, Paintball was well fancied for the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle but faded from the last to be well beaten. After he had performed three similar late-race swoons in the autumn, Longsdon ordered a breathing operation and the benefits appeared obvious as he sprinted up the hill to beat 23 rivals by 4½ lengths. "That's our biggest winner and we can hopefully go to Cheltenham now with a smile on our face," said Longsdon. " We haven't won big races up to this point; we've had plenty of winners, everyone knows that, but we haven't had the big Saturday winners." A penalty for this win gives Paintball a chance of sneaking in at the bottom of the weights for the County and Longsdon was in no doubt that he would let him take his chance, unless his exertions here leave a mark. He is a best-priced 12-1. Sanctuaire enjoyed a facile victory over moderate rivals in the novice chase, but Paul Nicholls was sufficiently enthused to suggest he might be a replacement for the retired Master Minded as his best two-miler. "He just gallops and jumps," the trainer said. "He'll take some collaring round here in the Tingle Creek one day. Jumping fences has been the making of him. I think he probably got fed up of being beaten over hurdles on ground too soft."