Fennor Cross lifts the William Hill Handicap Hurdle.
McConnell and Harvey teamed up for Cheltenham Festival success last month with Seddon and hopes were high that Fennor Cross could also get the trainer off the mark at Aintree.
An 8-1 shot after finishing down the field in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on his latest start, the six-year-old was a commanding two-length winner on his return to handicap company, after which McConnell said: “It’s easy this game isn’t it!“Cheltenham was a mess for this horse. We’d hoped to run him at Musselburgh, but he had a little issue which meant he didn’t get his fourth run in to qualify for the handicaps and the only race he was in was the Supreme. He wouldn’t have run a bad race in that but made a mess of the third-last and his race was over.“We always felt going up in trip would suit him and it went really well. Ben gave him a beautiful ride.“He handles most ground and has turned into a proper horse. I don’t know what the plan is because I think there’s unfinished business on the Flat as well.”