Val Dancer emerged from the gloom to claim the Coral Welsh Grand National, clinging on gamely to thwart Sam Thomas’ two-pronged attack at Chepstow.
Trained by Mel Rowley, the 8-1 winner tuned up for this marathon assignment with a victorious return at Carlisle last month and was among those to keep tabs on early leader Amateur in the early exchanges.
Fancied runners, Dan Skelton’s Galia Des Liteaux and Jonjo and AJ O’Neill’s pair Iron Bridge and Monbeg Genius crept into contention as the runners made their way down the back for the second time, as plenty remained in the hunt as the runners went out of sight at the most distant part of the course.
However, with fog making visibility tricky, it was…