Time For Rupert caused a 20-1 shock for Paul Webber’s Mollington stables, near Banbury, when running out a game winner of the Sidney Banks Memorial Novices' Hurdle at Huntingdon on Thursday.

The five-year-old looking a sitting duck at one stage, but Faringdon-based jockey William Kennedy's mount found more for pressure to beat Cracboumwiz by two and a half lengths.

"We're thrilled to pieces with him and he is coming forward very, very quickly," said Webber.

"The two races he has been defeated in have worked out very well, but we used to ride him for speed whereas he has plenty of stamina.

"He's now qualified for the Sandown EBF Final, so we'll have to see if he's too highly handicapped for that now.

"I didn't enter him at Cheltenham because I didn't want him to have a real battle in a cauldron like that this year and I hope it pays off.

"However, unfortunately in racing, when you show patience it very often isn't rewarded and a catastrophe happens."