ROYALE PAGAILLE took advantage of a final fence blunder from Grey Dawning to cling on to his Betfair Chase crown.
Dan Skelton’s rising star had just edged into the lead when he made a mess of the last and gifted the race back to Venetia Williams’ gutsy galloper.
It wasn’t a day for the faint-hearted at Haydock as Storm Bert battered the north of England and turned the ground into a quagmire.
But that’s just how Royale Pagaille likes it, as he proved when powering through the mud to win this big Grade 1 last November.
And he was at it again under Charlie Deutsch, who set out to make all the running and turn the race into as stiff a test of stamina as he possibly could.
One-by-one they dropped away, but he could never shake off Grey Dawning, who moved into a two-length lead at the last – only to give the fence a thump and empty on the run-in.
The result capped a stunning 78-1 treble at Haydock and Ascot for red-hot Williams, whose horses are flying now the rains have come.
She said: “I’m very proud of the horse and Charlie. He gave the horse a tremendous ride, I thought he was beat after the second last.
“The ground came right for him, there is no shadow of doubt he loves soft ground and he goes so well around Haydock, he can get into a nice rhythm around here. I’m absolutely thrilled.”
The result gave owner Rich Ricci his 100th Grade 1 winner, and he beamed: “You can make as much money as you want, but you can’t buy thrills, happiness and emotion, good and bad.
“That’s what this sport brings. We’ve had some great days and horrible days but you live for days like this.”
But it was a tough day at the office for Skelton who saddled 12 runners around the country, many of them fancied, only to come away empty-handed.
He will give Grey Dawning plenty of time to get over these exertions in the hope he can serve it up to the Irish in the Cheltenham Gold Cup
Skelton said: “I’m gutted to get beat. I take my hat off to the winner, it looked like we had him but he found a little bit more.
“I don’t know if he didn’t quite stay the last 50 yards, it is pretty attritional ground. He’s improved on last year, that’s for sure, but it’s disappointing to get beat.
“I’m not hitting the panic button, we will go home and get him right. You might not see him for a while now for obvious reasons. The King George would be six weeks too soon.”
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