Warwickshire trainer Dan Skelton in treble-winning form at Warwick

Having hit the crossbar when Omaha Wish finished a close third to Abaya Du Mathin in the Molly Ollys Handicap Chase, Skelton then won the last three races on the card, all ridden by his brother Harry, to take his prize money haul for the season to a career-best £2.9m.

Take No Chances, beaten a nose by Zain Nights at Newbury last time, was a comfortable winner of the feature £20,000 John Sillett Memorial Handicap Hurdle over three miles, leading approaching the final flight and seeing off the challenge of Hyland.

The closing racingtv.com Open National Hunt Flat Race had been divided and Skelton saddled 9/4 favourite Ace Of Spades, who had shown promise in both his starts, to take the first division, beating Olly Murphy's Junker d'Allier by four lengths. Jafimgoso, his runner in the second, had weakened in the closing stages on debut, but ran on stoutly here, leading inside the final furlong to beat outsider River Rider.

Skelton's treble meant that he started Friday £178,000 behind Mullins, who widened the gap with a winner at Perth and sealed the championship at Sandown Park when saddling another two winners, including Minella Cocooner in the £170,000 bet365 Gold Cup.

As well as the race to be champion trainer, there was a close contest to be top jockey and leader Harry Cobden added to his total when Village Master followed up his Hereford success to land the Zircom Data Communications 30th Anniversary Novices' Handicap Chase over three miles. That took Cobden to 162 winners for the season, six ahead of his close rival Sean Bowen, who rode a double at Perth, but he clinched the title at Chepstow the following evening, ending on a score of 164, with Bowen runner-up for the second season in a row.

Both Bowen's Perth winners were trained by Wilmcote-based Murphy, who was also on the mark with Rambo T at the meeting and with Pickanumber at Huntingdon in the evening, making it a career-best season for him as well both in number of winners trained and prize money won.

The most eye-catching performance on the Warwick card came from Big Blue Moon in the Visit racingtv.com Handicap Hurdle. Jumping the last fight in fourth place, he passed the three horses in front of him on the run-in to snatch victory from 7/4 Pyffo who had looked the likely winner.

There are now four meetings in May to bring this much-interrupted season to a close, starting with Family Fun Day on Bank Holiday Monday.