Val Dancer powers to Welsh National

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 Val Dancer who had taken up the running as the runners came back into full view with five fences to jump, the seven-year-old having Sam Thomas’ 2021 winner Iwilldoit for company.

Val Dancer and Iwilldoit engaged in a ding-dong battle up the long, stamina-sapping Chepstow straight and although Iwilldoit’s challenge began to falter in the closing stages, his stablemate, the 6-1 joint-favourite Jubilee Express, took over the mantle to push the winner all the way to the line.

Ridden to victory by Charlie Hammond, Val Dancer emerged a length and half clear of Jubilee Express at the finish, with Iwilldoit the same distance back in third. Monbeg Genius was the pick of the O’Neill pair in fourth.

The victory not only broke Rowley’s duck at the south Wales venue, but also provided the Shropshire handler with the biggest success of her fledgling training career.

She told Sky Sports Racing: "I can't put it into words and for our little yard in Shropshire, days like this we watch on the telly, we’re not part of it. It’s unbelievable, I don’t know