“Five or six years” is Michael O’Leary’s best guess on how long it will take for his current battalion of novice hurdlers and bumper horses to work their way through the National Hunt system, and he was insistent here on Saturday that even an afternoon such as this one will not change his mind.

Delta Work charged hard and late to snatch the Savills Chase from Monalee in the final strides while Apple’s Jade returned to her brilliant best in the Frank Ward Memorial Hurdle, but the man whose Gigginstown Stud colours have landed dozens of the sport’s biggest prizes over the past 20 years is still determined to get out of the game. Indeed, O’Leary suspects he will not go racing once the last of his horses have headed into retirement.

“If I didn’t have runners, I’d have no interest in coming here,” O’Leary said after Delta Work’s last-gasp success had prompted a second round of celebrations for his family party, including his four children. “I’d happily watch it on TV, jump racing is a wonderful spectacle and there’s wonderful people involved in it. But if you’re not involved, it can be a very boring day out.

“I need action, I need caffeine and adrenaline and if you’re not involved with the horses I wouldn’t be that interested in travelling here. I have bumper horses now that will become maiden hurdlers and then novice chasers, so it’ll be four or five years before they can work their way through the system. But next year, I’ll have no bumper horses and not that many maiden hurdlers, so the numbers will work themselves out pretty quickly.

“But the good thing is that [his trainers] Gordon [Elliott] and Henry [de Bromhead] have enough time now to replace our horses with other horses. It’s not a sudden decision and we’ll manage it over a period of time and hopefully with the minimum disruption.”

Given the immense scale of his investment, the final five or six years of O’Leary’s ownership career should still mean him winning more Grade Ones than most owners could hope for in 500. While Apple’s Jade, who pummelled her rivals from the front on the way to the 11th Grade One of her career, is not a certain runner at Cheltenham in March, Delta Work is now a live contender to give Gigginstown a third win in the Gold Cup.

Delta Work lost an unbeaten record over fences as a novice when he finished third in the RSA Chase back in March, after making a couple of mistakes that may have cost him more than his two-and-a-quarter length margin of defeat.

Quick Guide Sunday's racing tips Show Kelso 11.45 Uptown Harry 12.15 Baby Ticker 12.50 Goldencard 1.25 Dubai Days 2.00 Cuban Pete 2.35 The Crooner (nb) 3.10 Calivigny Doncaster 11.55 Boss Man Fred 12.25 Baddesley Knight (nap) 1.00 Sainte Doctor 1.35 Casablanca Mix 2.10 Corrany 2.45 Boldmere 3.20 Yaa Salaam Southwell 12.05 Gweedore 12.40 Xian Express 1.15 Elixsoft 1.50 Atwaar 2.25 Parallel World 3.00 Young Tiger 3.35 Sociologist

His jumping was sketchy at Down Royal last month too, but he was a lot more fluent here and found an impressive turn of foot to close down Monalee just when it seemed that Rachael Blackmore’s frontrunning ride had secured her a third Grade One win in third days. Instead, it was Jack Kennedy who took the applause, from Elliott as well as a big holiday crowd.

“Jack is riding out of his skin,” Elliott said. “He had a few hard injuries and it’s good to see him back riding like this. I knew there was a good bit of improvement in him. When he jumped the last and Jack pulled him out, he got over closer to the other horses [and] really put his head out. We thought he was a Gold Cup horse and obviously our bubble burst at Down Royal, but we’re not gone yet.”

Delta Work was cut to a top price of 10-1 for the Gold Cup after the win, while last year’s Savills Chase winner, Kemboy, is unchanged at 6-1 after finishing fourth on his return to action after 241 days on the sidelines, within four lengths of the winner. Presenting Percy, who finished one place behind Kemboy, is now out to 14-1 for the Gold Cup having started favourite for the race last season.

Richard Johnson reached 100 winners for the season with a treble at Newbury, the highlight of which was Thyme Hill’s hard-fought defeat of The Cashel Man in the Grade One Challow Hurdle. The winner is now top-priced at 7-1 for the Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham.