Vautour crashes out as God's Own comes good in Melling Chase

All eyes were on 1-5 market leader Vautour as he looked to follow up his impressive success in the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival

Fri, 08 Apr, 2016 - 16:49

Hot favourite Vautour was a shock faller as God's Own claimed one of the most significant victories of his career in a dramatic renewal of the JLT Melling Chase at Aintree.

All eyes were on 1-5 market leader Vautour as he looked to follow up his impressive success in the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, on his first visit to the Merseyside track

For the early part of the Grade One feature all was going well for the Willie Mullins-trained runner, as he cleared his fences in perfect fashion.

But that picture was not to last, as after flicking through the top of the ninth he parted company with Ruby Walsh, leaving Clarcam out in front, a position he held to the second-last.

.@PaddyBrennan22 and God's Own on the way to taking the spoils in the JLT Melling Chase at #Aintree pic.twitter.com/dUx4S7Zgw0
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) April 8, 2016

As Al Ferof and God's Own moved on, it was the Tom George-trained runner who asserted going down to the final fence, opening up a race-winning advantage.

Although his stride shortened late on, the winning line came in time with the 10-1 scorer getting home with two and three-quarter lengths in hand.