Notre Pere carved out his own little piece of racing history by becoming the first Irish-trained winner of the Coral Welsh National at Chepstow.

Jim Dreaper's 16-1 scorer was among a group of half a dozen with a chance halfway up the straight and took a definite lead from Sherwoods Folly when Andrew Lynch fired him over the second-last fence.

It was then plain sailing for Notre Pere, who defeated the Paul Nicholls-trained Cornish Sett by seven lengths.

Last year's runner-up Halcon Genelardais was third, with Nicholls' Officier De Reserve fourth.

Notre Pere attracted various quotes for the John Smith's Grand National but trainer Jim Dreaper was quick to rule out Aintree.

A jubilant Dreaper, who trains 32 horses with the assistance of his son Tom, said: "He's an out-and-out stayer at the early stage of the learning curve.

"But he's developing and had done really well since his win at Navan.

"We went missing for many years with regard to having horses at the top end, but this is a good, honest horse.

"If I have my way he won't go there (Aintree) this season.

"He needs at least another year but I might give him an entry for the Gold Cup.

"There's always the chance we could get extreme conditions, like when Desert Orchid beat Yahoo, in which case we might regret not putting him in it."

Walkon had his JCB Triumph Hurdle odds halved to 10-1 after the grey followed in the hoofprints of Franchoek to give Alan King back-to-back victories in the Coral Future Champions Finale Juvenile Hurdle.

In an exhilarating display, the three-year-old paid a huge compliment to his Newbury conqueror Zaynar as he took a grip on the race early in the home straight.

Robert Thornton let him have his head at the third-last flight and it was a cakewalk from then on.

The 7-2 chance pulled five lengths clear of Pepite De Soleil, who held Reve De Sivola a short head for second.

King said: "We certainly felt he was the best of the juveniles this season.

"We ran into something a bit special of Nicky Henderson's (Zaynar) but, equally, I knew this fellow would improve for some match practice."

"I was a bit worried and didn't expect Choc (Thornton) to ride him as aggressively as that.

"He'll only have one more run, at Cheltenham on January 24, as I'd very much like to get a spin into him at the course."

Carl Llewellyn was dreaming of the 2009 Welsh National after Wind Instrument floored Nakai in the Coral Backing Sue Ryder Care Beginners' Chase.

Graham Lee excelled on the 8-1 winner, who scored by two and three-quarter lengths from his odds-on rival – who was subsequently found to have broken a blood vessel.

Wind Instrument is owned by Elizabeth Pearce, wife of England Under-21s coach Stuart Pearce.

Llewellyn said: "Since his bumper days, I've always thought a lot of this horse and hoped that one day he would go to the top.

"He'll stay forever and he loves to get his toe into the ground.

"I think he could win a Welsh National one day."