The gallant Mr Vango (11/1) defied top-weight - the first to do so since 1991 - to win the JenningsBet Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter for Sara Bradstock and Jack Tudor.
Mr Vango, who stands 18 hands tall, is the star of Bradstock's yard and the apple of his trainer's eye. He was also the last winner trained by her late husband Mark and has delighted his supporters this season, winning all of his three starts.
Connections had hoped to head to Aintree for the Grand National but were highly unlikely to make the cut from his rating of 143 having gone up by 8lbs for his two previous victories this season.
A winner of the London National on his reappearance, he followed up in the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock jumping and galloping from the front on both occasions.
Mr Vango again jumped out in front under Tudor and jumped from fence to fence but he was passed at the end of the first circuit by the free-running Saint Davy (whose exertions told when he weakened quickly deep into the race). Eventual runner-up Tanganyika was also close to the pace in a race where surprisingly few got into it.
The field were almost in single file with two circuits to run but had bunched up to some extent with one lap to go with Charlie Deutsch taking a look behind him on Tanganyika.
That confidence proved well-founded as he and Mr Vango had seen off My Silver Lining et al at the top of the home-straight and had the race between them.
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Mr Vango galloped on relentlessly, however, and opened up by a couple of lengths only for Tanganyika to have one more dig after the last but he couldn't reel in the winner who passed the post a length to the good.
There were 14 lengths back to Passing Well in third and another 16 back to My Silver Lining. Fortunedefortunata was fifth.
Grand National dream for Mr Vango
Tudor said: "He's great fun. He's a great jumper.
"That ground is quite testing and he does love testing ground. I'm not connected with him or anything but I'm lucky they put me up on the big days, that was good."
On being told that Kevin Blake (speaking on ITV Racing) had described Mr Vango as 'slow as a funeral but brave as a lion', a laughing Bradstock replied: "That is exactly the reputation that allowed us to buy him so I don't mind it at all.
"The fact is that he won. The Peter Marsh was only three miles but it was very soft ground. We ran him with slight trepidation today, because he's so big, on this slightly faster ground; although I think it is still tiring.
"We wanted to know whether the extreme distance meant he couldn't win and he just keeps doing it.
"He is the biggest thoroughbred I've ever seen and probably is only coming to full strength now and we've taken a lot of time to get him stronger. Chris Barber did a very good job with him pointing, Covid probably helped him because there was no pointing when he was a five-year-old so that may have been his saving grace.
"That will be it for this season and we're dreaming of Grand Nationals. Obviously this year we wouldn't get anywhere near the race but hopefully we'll get to the place we can one day.
"This horse is very special because he really cheered Mark in his last week."
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