A MAIDEN hurdle winner at Ellerslie less than 12 months ago, Bee Tee Junior has risen to the top, taking out Sunday’s A$350,000 Grand National Steeple at Ballarat in the heaviest conditions the course has seen for years. Such was the state of the track, stewards had the final jump removed for the 4,500-metre race.

Bee Tee Junior’s main rival was the previously unbeaten Ablaze, the even-money favourite seeking to become the first horse to win the Grand Annual Steeplechase as well as both Nationals.