NACARAT made it a grey day at Aintree as he bounded clear to land the totesport Bowl as the John Smith’s Grand National meeting got off to a spectacular start.

While it is 50 years since a grey – Nicolaus Silver in 1961 – last won the John Smith’s Grand National, the Grade One feature on the first day saw victories by the great Desert Orchid and also more recently, another bold-jumper Grey Abbey in 2004.

And yesterday under Paddy Brennan, the flying grey Nacarat led almost from start to finish to land the spoils in glorious fashion by six lengths from the fast-finishing Carole‘s Legacy.

Tom George’s 10-year-old was sent off 7-2 second favourite. And after Paul Nicholls and Ruby Walsh had landed a big-race double in the opening two races with the majestic Big Buck’s (4-6f) and Zarkander (4-6f), Nacarat’s win foiled a hat-trick with 5-4 market leader Denman again disappointing at Aintree to finish a well-beaten fifth of the six runners.

But it was all about Nacarat, who put in a superb round of jumping.

Trainer George said: “It’s been a great 48 hours as we had a winner in France yesterday. A lot of hard work has gone into this horse and a lot of people deserve credit.

“We were never going to go to Cheltenham, but the big key today is the good ground.”

In the first race over the Grand National fences, the John Smith’s Fox Hunters’ Chase 16-year-old Willie Twiston-Davies’ scored an emotional success aboard his father Nigel’s Baby Run – the 3-1 favourite.

The young jockey had fell at the final fence when leading in the Cheltenham equivalent last month, but he led from start to finish and landed the ‘amateur’s Grand National’ by holding the challenge of Boxer Georg by just over three-quarters of a length.