NOT for the first time we had a high-class chase affected by the omission of key fences, as Aintree’s Old Roan Chase lost its last three fences on Sunday.

Who knows if Forest Bihan would still have won but the race was ruined for many who might have backed
Frodon or Kalashnikov and it seemed a faster, fitter horse in Forest Bihan was given an advantage, and one that was only evident at a very late stage when the fences were omitted. Good jumpers were at a disadvantage by what became a flat race for the length of the long Aintree straight.