Seebald stuck with Best Mate, ridden for the first time by Timmy Murphy, over the last two fences and only went down by a short head.

Sir Rembrandt, runner-up in last season’s Gold Cup, set the pace with Best Mate settled nicely in second place, with Seebald third and Frenchman’s Creek held up last of the four runners.

The order remained unchanged until after the ninth fence, an open ditch, at which Sir Rembrandt, who continually carried himself out to the left, made a mistake.

Murphy took this error as a signal to send Best Mate into the lead, but Tom Scudamore on Seebald seemed unmoved.

Although Sir Rembrandt was a spent force some way out, Best Mate could not shake off Martin Pipe’s runner.

There was little to choose between the pair at the second-last and Murphy had to call on all Best Mate’s reserves to hold the nine-year-old in a desperately close finish.

Frenchman’s Creek, having his first start since April 2002, was 16 lengths away in third.

Best Mate has now won 14 of his 20 starts and finished second in the other six.

Trainer Henrietta Knight said: “I watched the race from some bushes, so I can’t really tell you how I felt the race went.

“But we didn’t want to do too much on his first run of the season and it sounds like it was a typical Timmy Murphy ride.

“The ground was a bit dead, possibly a little bit softer than they are saying, and it is just a relief to get it behind us.

“From what I saw he jumped very well and there’s always improvement to come from his first run of the season. He came on a lot last year before going to Ireland.”

Owner Jim Lewis added: “I wasn’t sure we had won, I have to say. That’s when you see the real Best Mate, when he has to fight.

“He has never done anything more than he has to and he’ll give it when he knows he has to give it.

“It’s a wonderful experience being here with so many people who have come to see my horse, and I’m so pleased we got the result everybody wanted.”

Best Mate’s regular rider Jim Culloty, who is out with a thumb injury, thought the ground did not suit the horse.

“To be honest I thought it would be a walk in the park for him today, but I would imagine the ground is riding deader than I expected,” he told BBC Sport.

“It was his first run since the last Gold Cup so he’s going to improve, but he was fit enough to do himself justice.”

Beaten jockey Scudamore could not hide his disappointment after the result of the photograph came through.

He said: “Seebald hasn’t missed a beat and I thought I had it won all the way. The horse really doesn’t deserve to have been beaten and I hate finishing second.”

Robert Alner will now confine Sir Rembrandt’s programme to left-handed tracks.

He said: “He will never go right-handed again. He was never happy going on that lead and really hasn’t had a race today. There’s nothing obvious in the near future, but I promise you if there was, he could run again tomorrow.”

Jockey Andrew Thornton added: “He’s never been right-handed and I was a little bit sceptical because in his other races he’s tended to lean to the left.

“He was jumping a few of the shadows and coming up outside the wings of the fences and we were losing ground for most of the journey.”

Hugh Morrison was delighted with Frenchman’s Creek, and there is an outside chance the gelding could reappear in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup next weekend.

He said: “That was a big run, just about right, and I think he’s blown up twice.

“He’s been beaten 16 lengths by Seebald and if the handicapper goes by the book we should be dropped a little bit. If everything is all right with him we may look at the Hennessy, but I think it’s about a 25% chance that he will go there.”