No Hero made the 100th Great Western Steeplechase memorable by winning by 26 lengths under 67.5kg at Riverton on Saturday.
It is the second-biggest weight carried to success in the race since metrics were introduced in 1973 and the widest margin for six years. Loch Linnhe carried 74kg in hissecond Western win in 1976, while Fillibuster won by 35 lengths in 2000.
Saturday's win was the first time Wanganui rider Joanne Rathbone, 25, had ridden No Hero in a steeplechase race.
"He is such a nice horse to ride. He jumps beautifully," Rathbone said.
"He just cantered past them."
Rathbone won the Great Northern Steeple on Just The Man in September.
No Hero, winner of his last eight steeplechases, has the $50,000 Waikato Steeplechase at Te Rapa on May 20 next on his programme.
Jonathan Riddell will have the mount.
No Hero has yet to race over the Te Rapa country and on Saturday was having his first jumps race since he won the Grand National Steeple at Riccarton eight months ago with 66.5kg.
Hastings trainer Paul Nelson and his wife Carol, who bred and own No Hero, produced him at a high level of fitness with two flat races and a steeple trial.
Rathbone settled No Hero fifth about eight lengths from the leader Kalsoy.
She improved to second when Crafty Dancer went to the front at the 1000m mark and led after the second last fence.
Crafty Dancer, winner of the 2002 Grand National Steeplechase at Flemington, battled on for second.
"I knew my horse was fit and I thought I would put the acid on No Hero when I went to the front," Eddie Lamb, the rider of Crafty Dancer, said.
"But he just treated us with contempt."
But the Nelsons put No Hero's settled performance down partly to a pony.
They said they were grateful to Bill and Alison Hazlett, who had put them up at their Wrights Brush property from Thursday, and that their 5-year-old granddaughter Siobhan's pony Jack helped No Hero settle.
"Perhaps some of the Hazlett success in the Western rubbed off on us," Carol Nelson remarked.
Bill Hazlett's father, Bill, won the Great Western 16 times as an owner and trained five of his winners.
