SIRE DE GRUGY picked up his second victory in the Tingle Creek in three years today but not without being made to sweat.
The 2013 winner, trained by Gary Moore and ridden by his son Jamie, was first past the post this afternoon but faced a lengthy stewards inquiry after he appeared to impede Special Tiara at the final fence.
Despite the 10/3 shot only narrowly holding off the runner-up at the finish, the result stood:
Earlier, Ar Mad won the other feature race at Sandown thanks to some brilliant race management by Joshua Moore.
The 14/1 shot strung out the Grand 1 field with a flawless display of jumping before allowing race favourite Bristol De Mai close up with three to go.
However, Moore was only giving his mount a breather and raced 10 lengths clear after the last to seal a comfortable win.
Over at Aintree, Highland Lodge won the Becher Handicap Chase in the first race of the season over the Grand National fences while Don Poli beat 2014 Grand National winner Many Clouds to the Betfred Chase.
The 6/5 favourite failed to impress the bookies however and remains as high as 8/1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup next March.
