CHIEF DAN GEORGE showed there is still plenty of mileage left in him with a bold display in the sportingbet.

com Veterans’ Handicap Chase at Doncaster.

A Grade One winner over hurdles at the Aintree Festival in 2007, Jimmy Moffatt’s ten-year-old has struggled to reach those heights since.

He ran with credit in the Scottish National last season to finish fifth but looked up against it on Town Moor with the likes of Trabolgan and Tamarinbleu in the field.

It was those two more exalted rivals who looked to pose the biggest threat as they approached four-out with Paddy Aspell in front on Chief Dan George (7-1).

Trabolgan deposited Barry Geraghty on the turf though and try as Tamarinbleu might, he could never get to the leader, who, despite crossing the runner-up, never looked likely to relinquish his one-length advantage.

‘‘I took the cheek pieces off for the first time today and I don’t suppose they’ll be going back on any time soon,’’ said Moffatt.

‘‘We’ve had them on since Aintree so I never had the nerve to take them off before.

‘‘He’s a funny old horse, he sort of jumps into other horses to intimidate them a bit but one thing I do know is that he thrives in the spring.

‘‘He’s entered in he William Hill at Cheltenham, the National and the Scottish National, in which he ran a good race last year.’’ Danny Cook, riding the runner-up for David Pipe said: ‘‘I don’t think it made too much difference that he crossed me, my lad doesn’t need an excuse to not go for a gap so when it got tight, he just thought about it a bit.’’ Alan King finally looks to have shaken off his earlyseason blues and he added another to his potential Festival team when Gilded Age (7-1) won the sportingbet.com Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle.

Having his third start over timber, he put his experience to good use for Robert Thornton as he pulled well clear up the straight before being eased for three-quarter- length success.