A racing fairytale came true on Saturday (28th December) at Chepstow Racecourse with Welsh owners winning their first ever Coral Welsh Grand National on their debut run.

20/1 Mountainous, co-owned by Dai Walters and James and Jean Potter, relished the heavy going. Jockey Paul Moloney, opted for an inside route, and skillfully steered Mountainous over the final fence alongside Hawkes Point ridden by Ryan Mahon, to battle in the home straight to win by a head. Paul Nicholls-trained, Hawkes Point and Tidal Bay, finished second and third with One In A Milan claiming fourth.

Dai Walters says: "This morning I felt very positive about Mountainous – the soft ground and heavy rain was ideal for us, and I knew carrying weight in such conditions would stop a train!

"None of us backed him – if we did he wouldn't have won.

"Winning the Welsh Grand National really is a dream come true."

When questioned regarding his next race, Walters adds: "Soft ground is the key. If all goes according to plan, we'll enter Mountainous in the West Wales National at Ffos Las (1st February) and we'll also make a Crabbie's Grand National entry but perhaps Punchestown would be a better option."

Enjoying the winning moment, trainer Richard Lee explains: "This is great. Both runners (Mountainous and Knock A Hand) were lucky to get into the feature race and I truly couldn't split them.  They worked together on Tuesday, up a stiff gallop and finished side-by-side.

"We targeted this race specifically for Mountainous and we'll see how he comes out of the race before we make fresh plans."

Phil Bell, Executive Director for the South West says: "What a race! It was a fantastic battle between three horses and the best man won.  It was also a delight for Welsh connections to win the top Welsh prize in their debut run.

"My team have worked tremendously hard to produce an exciting raceday and have been rewarded with an attendance of 8,000 people despite the

challenging weather."