The four-year-old gelding shared the lead with last year's Grand National Hurdle winner, Desert Master, in the first half of the race, but took over about 1600 metres from home and the only question then was by how far.

Ridden by Steve Pateman, Black And Bent clipped the second last hurdle but by the final obstacle had the race won.Corries was second and Vindicating, third.

"You wait your whole career to ride a horse like this," Pateman said. "He's an absolute superstar and it is an incredible feeling to ride a horse like that."

Connections are considering his future and it will probably involve racing overseas.

Pateman suggested he would be suited by the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in England but part owner Mike Symons and trainer Robert Smerdon are more interested in Japan.

They are hoping to receive an invitation to start in the richest jumping race in the world, the Nakayama Grand Jump in Japan next April, but first Black And Bent must switch from hurdling to the bigger fences and they will target a feature steeplechase later in the jumping season.

At this stage, he is headed to the Melbourne Racing Club's $150,000 Grand National Hurdle on Sunday, August 15 at Betfair Park.

While Japan is the likely aim for Black And Bent, Tarawera, winner of the $101,500 Australian Steeplechase, which was also run on Saturday, looks headed for England.

Joint trainers Fran Houlahan, daughter of the legendary Jim Houlahan, and Brian Johnston intend to take a team of jumpers to England next year.

"Ideally we would like to take six horses to England in January and aim them towards the Cheltenham Festival in March, but in the meantime we must recruit some horses to take with Tarawera," Johnston said.

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