Overview
- Grey Dawning won the Grade 1 JCB Melling Chase at Aintree by a neck after a planned drop to two and a half miles with cheekpieces.
- Solness, trained by Joseph O'Brien, set the pace stepping up from two miles and was caught late.
- Heart Wood, the Ryanair Chase winner and 6-5 favorite, finished third on the sharper track.
- Dan Skelton signaled a Betfair Chase return to start next season with the Ryanair at Cheltenham the likely goal.
- Elsewhere on the card, Gold Dancer sustained a fatal injury after the Mildmay Novices' Chase, according to Gigginstown's Eddie O'Leary.