SAM Thomas' Vincenzo trailed home fifth in Saturday's £80,000 BetVictor Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Newbury after starting as 11/4 favourite.

The Abergavenny Gold Cup-winning jockey-turned-trainer’s eight-year-old, entered at next week’s Cheltenham Festival, briefly went second four out under jockey Dylan Johnston in the 2m 3f 16-fence race.

But Vincenzo, a winner at Ascot in January, weakened two from home, as Dan Skelton's 20/1 outsider Heltenham pipped the Moore brothers' Blow Your Wad by 1/2L to claim the £45,000 first prize.

Thomas has several entries at next week’s Festival (March 10-13), including Vincenzo in the Sun Racing Plate Handicap Chase.

Steel Ally is entered in the Singer Arkle Novices’ Chase, alongside Rocking Man in both the Turner Novices Chase and the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle, and Celtic Dino in the Bet MGM Cup Champion Hurdle, who is also down for the William Hill Handicap.

C’est Different is also named for the Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle, while Whisky Yankee is another Albert Bartlett entry.

Meanwhile, Monmouthshire trainer Robert Stephens has enjoyed recent success, taking victory two weeks ago with 3/1 shot Caballero Cliff at Wincanton in the King Of The Golden Darts National Hunt Maiden Hurdle to score a £5,200 pay day under Robert Dunne.

And on Monday, the Penhow trainer was back in the winners' enclosure after 9/2 shot Sneaky Blinder held on by a head under Rose Dawes to win the £6,000 Apprentice Handicap flat race at Wolverhampton by a head from Queensland Boy.

That followed a second for 12/1 shot Knight Templar at Southwell under Luke Morris in the Tipping Tom Bet Feed Handicap over 1m 4f at Southwell.

His 125/1 shot My Boy Aaron also scored a third at Cheltenham in the Jackpot Maiden Hurdle over 2m 1/2f under Sean Houlihan to score a £1,880 pay day.