William Hill Grand Sefton Chase
Handicap Chase, Aintree 15:15
£64,000 added,
6yo plus,
2m 5f 19y, Class 2  
Saturday 5th December 2020

1 Beau Bay 20/1
2 Sir Jack Yeats 33/1
3 Modus 15/2
4 Flying Angel 12/1
18 ran NR: Huntsman Son Distances: 5l, 1¾l, ½l
Time: 5m 53.75s (slow by 32.75s)

Ridden by 3lb claiming conditional jockey Charlie Hammond, Beau Bay jumped brilliantly throughout to see off the opposition and give 2014 Grand National-winning trainer Dr Richard Newland another winner over the famous fences.

Sir Jack Yeats made a brave bid to make all the running and he proved a tough nut to crack, but he was unable to hold the winner on the long run for home and was beaten five lengths at the line.

Modus was a length and three-quarters away in third place, with Flying Angel a further half-length back in fourth.

Newland said: “It’s a huge thrill. We absolutely love it here – it’s no secret. With Pineau De Re winning the National and Silver Adonis winning the Foxhunters’, it’s just about our favourite place.

“This lad is a stable star. He’s not getting any younger, but he was third in this race last year and seems to love these fences – it brings him alive and gives him that bit of improvement.

“We’ve seen other Grand National fence specialists do well today (Vieux Lion Rouge winning Becher Chase) and I’m so thrilled for the horse and so thrilled for Charlie Hammond, who has been with me since he had his first winner. He’s paid us back in spades.

“We had a question mark over the trip because he was walking on the run-in last year, but he’s actually finished strongly today.

“I think we’ve just caught him right as he’s in fabulous form and it’s all come off on the day.”

He added: “We could look at coming back here in April for the Topham, but realistically, that is another step up.”

FormRatings

Grand Sefton Handicap Chase
£64,000 added, 6yo plus, 2m 5f 19y, Class 2
18 ran
Going: Soft, Heavy in places

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1     Beau Bay 9 10-5 Dr Richard Newland Charlie Hammond 20/1
2 5 Sir Jack Yeats 9 10-0 Richard Spencer James Best 33/1
3 1¾ Modus 10 11-10 Paul Nicholls Jonjo O'Neill Jr 15/2
4 ½ Flying Angel 9 11-0 Nigel Twiston-Davies Jordan Nailor 12/1
5 9½ Springtown Lake 8 11-2 Philip Hobbs Tom O'Brien 11/2
6 3¼ Sametegal 11 11-2 Paul Nicholls Bryony Frost 17/2
7 8 Senior Citizen 7 10-8 Alan King Tom Bellamy 7/1
8 16 Didero Vallis 7 10-6 Venetia Williams Charlie Deutsch 5/1F
9 1 Lord Du Mesnil 7 11-12 Richard Hobson Paul O'Brien 16/1
10 6 Crievehill 8 11-9 Nigel Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies 12/1
11 13 Pink Eyed Pedro 9 10-13 David Brace Connor Brace 40/1
12 16 Caid du Lin 8 11-4 Dr Richard Newland Lee Edwards 40/1
13 11 Amalfi Doug 10 10-8 Keith Dalgleish Danny McMenamin 66/1
PU 2 Might Bite 11 11-10 Nicky Henderson Jeremiah McGrath 11/1
PU 10 Dingo Dollar 8 11-0 Alan King Tom Cannon 16/1
PU 17 Federici 11 10-1 Donald McCain Brian Hughes 33/1
FELL 12 Touch Kick 9 10-12 1 Simon West John Kington 80/1
FELL 18 Swift Crusador 9 10-0 Samuel Drinkwater Tom Scudamore 16/1
NR 5 Huntsman Son 10 11-8 Alex Hales NON RUNNER