Best Mate went into the Ascot feature race as one of the favourites for next year's Cheltenham Gold Cup.

But Pipe's horse was taking advantage of a 20lb pull in the weights over the Henrietta Knight-trained market leader, and succeeded by half a length

Bookmakers William Hill reacted by cutting the odds of Wahiba Sands in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at next year's Cheltenham Festival from 20-1 to 14-1.

Best Mate was eased in the Gold Cup betting from 7-1 to 8-1.

Logician had led the four-runner field for much of the way, but gave way close to home.

Best Mate loomed and looked a likely winner, but McCoy perservered with a typically determined ride.

Winning trainer Martin Pipe, who was completing a 275-1 treble at the meeting, seemed genuinely surprised by the success.

"I don't know what plans we have for him. I'm just pleased to have won this."

McCoy added: "I think this was his Gold Cup today, I wouldn't read too much into it.

"He has had to give a lot of weight away today and I think we all know who the best horse was."

Best Mate may now be aimed at an intermediate chase at Sandown next month, in which he could meet Bacchanal.

His trainer Henreitta Knight was at Huntingdon where Edredon Bleu won the Peterborough Chase for a record fourth consecurtive year.

Of Best Mate, she said: "He ran a wonderful race and he probably wants further than two and a half miles."

Pipe's great day started when 11-2 chance Live The Dream was given a brilliant ride by McCoy to take the John Doyle Aurelius Juvenile Novices' Hurdle.

And the second leg came up, albeit not in the way most had expected, when Montreal took the Sodexho Handicap Hurdle.

It had been Montreal's stablemate Hero's Fatal who was better fancied in the betting ring but that rival was being ridden along in third by McCoy when falling at the second-last flight.

So it was left to the 15-2 second string, ridden by conditional Tom Scudamore, to land the spoils, the pair holding off favourite Ballycassidy by a neck.

Knight gained compensation for Best Mate's narrow defeat when Returning took the Archmold Novices' Chase, foiling hopes of a four-timer for Pipe who saddled runner-up Bounce Back.

And much-travelled French chaser Djeddah recorded his first win for more than two years when winning the John Doyle Handicap Chase.

First National Gold Cup, 1430 GMT, Ascot
Grade Two, Winner �30,000, 2m 3 1/2f

1 Wahiba Sands 4-1, 2 Best Mate 8-13f,
3 Dusk Duel 9-2. 4 ran.