By William Hayler, PA Sport

Senorita Rumbalita outsprinted her rivals to earn a crack at either the Cheltenham or Aintree Festivals as she took the opening event on Racing Post Chase day at Sandown.

The winner of a valuable bumper at Aintree last season, she earned some more black type with victory in the Grade Two Anglo Irish Bank Commercial Property Lending Novices' Hurdle at odds of 11-2.

She was brought widest of all in the home straight to lead close home and deny favourite Mister Quasimodo by a length and a quarter.

Trainer Alan King revealed that walking the course with jockey Robert Thornton before racing had seen them agree to come wide in the straight for the best of the ground.

"If it had been a real fast pace and a slog then I would have been worried that the geldings might have drawn it out of her, but the fact they went slowly definitely played into our hands," said the trainer.

"Once she settled and jumped like that I would have been disappointed if she had got beaten.

"I said after she won last time that I couldn't take any more of this odds-on nonsense and so I had to step her up in grade today."

Bookmakers cut her odds for the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices' Hurdle on the back of this performance, with VC Bet going 14-1 from 25-1.

However, King warned: "She has had a couple of quite quick races now my gut feeling is that we will wait for Aintree now but we'll see how she comes out of this."