Conflated had led taking the second-last but Jonbon rallied and edged ahead at the last and although Conflated and Protektorat tried to chase him down, he held on.

“He had to be brave,” said De Boinville. “He jumped great, apart from the last. He is a classy animal and very versatile.”

Jonbon has been the mount of Aidan Coleman in recent seasons. De Boinville stepped in after Coleman sustained what proved to be a career-ending knee injury last June.

“I’d like to give a special mention to Aidan because it would have been his ride this season. I wish him all the best in his retirement,” De Boinville added.

“Days like these are very special so you’ve got to celebrate and enjoy them,” said McManus, who has five runners in Saturday’s big race – the well-fancied trio of I Am Maximus, Limerick Lace and Meetingofthewaters along with Capodanno and Janadil.

“Jonbon winning meant a lot because it has been a trying time for Nicky over the past two months so to see him up there, you could see it was special to him.”

Later, Paul Townend, who is set to ride I Am Maximus, was denied victory on his horse James Du Berlais when Arizona Cardinal struck late to win the Topham Handicap Chase over the National fences.

There were plenty in with chances as they approached the final fence, and Townend headed to the elbow in front but Arizona Cardinal, ridden by Ciaran Gethings and trained by Stuart Edmunds, finished the better to win at 20-1.