FINIAN'S Oscar predictably outclassed his rivals in the Free Bet At 188Bet Novices' Hurdle at Exeter.

Snapped up for £250,000 by Alan and Ann Potts after winning his only start in the Irish point-to-point field, the five-year-old made an impressive debut for Colin Tizzard at Hereford before graduating to Grade One level with honours after producing a sparkling display in the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown.

Already ante-post favourite for the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, Finian's Oscar was extremely prohibitive odds to complete his hat-trick in this Listed contest as the 1-16 favourite.

It was fairly plain sailing for Tom O'Brien's mount, with the handsome gelding initially tracking Taws before taking over the running in the back straight.

While the rest faltered - with Whatmore running out and smashing through the wings of one hurdle - Taws did his best to keep tabs on Finian's Oscar rounding the home turn.

But Tizzard's ace had too many guns and safely negotiated the remaining obstacles to prevail by four and a half lengths.

Tizzard said: "That hasn't told us anything and I'm still in the dark as to whether he will run in the Neptune or the Supreme. I really don't know which one.

"We will talk about it in the next two weeks. All we know is that was only his third hurdle race and it shows his well-being, nothing more. He's a very relaxed horse, as we saw today, but we haven't really gained anything.

"Everyone was in today's race at the five-day stage, but they backed off."

Tizzard also had news of Hennessy and Welsh National winner Native River, who enhanced his Gold Cup claims at Newbury on Saturday: "He's a good boy and what we saw at Newbury we hadn't seen before. He sprinted away from them and he has all the gears.

"To be fair to Richard Johnson (who missed the ride through illness), he rode in the car with Aidan Coleman before Newbury and told him the horse would do exactly what he did yesterday."

He added of the way things have gone for his string recently: "We had a few get beat as well as a few winners. We had a few sniffles, but everyone gets that at this time of the winter."