Tandem passed the winning post on the bit with Robbie McNamara motionless as the pair put three and a quarter lengths on nearest rival Tom’s Article at Navan.

Dermot Weld’s five-year-old gelding tracked The Black Devil in a close-up second throughout, but was going appreciably better upon jumping the third last. He was soon in the lead and asserted before the last with McNamara as quiet as a mouse on board. Although a bit untidy at that hurdle, the jockey could afford a look round half way up the run-in and knew the race was in the bag. He justified 1/2 favouritism.

Tom’s Article (25/1) kept on up the hill to take second from Crown Theatre (8/1), but they were very much involved in a race for minor honours.

“He did it impressively. He just missed the last and still has plenty to learn. When he puts it all together he's potentially a very high class hurdle horse,” Dermot Weld said.

“We'll look for a winners’ of one and go from there. He was unlucky not to win in Galway. He's a big powerful horse, a very strong horse. We still have homework to do on his jumping. It was satisfactory today, but will get better.”

Tandem attained a mark of 105 on the flat. He won the valuable Nasrullah Handicap at Leopardstown in July last year.

Additional reporting by Gary Carson