Royale Pagaille battled back gamely to see off young pretender Grey Dawning and win a second Betfair Chase at Haydock.

In conditions not meant for the faint hearted, Royale Pagaille relished the mud but looked booked for second when, having made all the running, he was overtaken on the run to the final fence by Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning.

However, the Cheltenham Festival winner met the last fence all wrong at the end of a gruelling three miles, losing all momentum in the process.

Charlie Deutsch then sensed a second chance on Venetia Williams’ 10-year-old, and he rallied to his great credit to get back up and win by two lengths.

A faller when last seen in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham in January, he has been nursed back to full health by Williams and in his favoured conditions, he takes some beating.

The race was reduced to just seven runners with Hewick and The Real Whacker taken out on account of the testing ground, while Ahoy Senor never looked happy.

The two Irish challengers, Limerick Lace and Capodanno also failed to get involved as Royale Pagaille, Grey Dawning, the French raider Gold Tweet and, a few lengths off those, Bravemansgame dominated the last mile.

Gold Tweet began to weaken from three out and eventually got caught for third by Bravemansgame, but those racegoers who braved the weather were threated to a real thriller by the first two.