Lake View Lad made the most of the weight he received from Santini as Trevor Hemmings' admirable grey landed an unusual running of the William Hill Many Clouds Chase.
Low sun meant the four fences in the home straight at Aintree were all dolled off, so jumping was not the name of the game in this Grade 2 steeplechase which didn't suit any of them, in truth.
Santini was niggled along as soon as the home turn of the second start, but actually responded well to Jeremiah McGrath's urgings on the long run for home on the flat.
He saw off Native River who also missed the jumping test, while Frodon seemed most unsuited by the lack of getting into a rhythm.
Lake View Lad got 6lb from those three rivals, though, and that proved crucial as he travelled best under Brian Hughes.
A battling Santini threatened to deny him victory in the final furlong, but Lake View Lad pulled out more to win by a length at 16/1 for trainer Nick Alexander.
Alexander, completing a double on the card following the earlier success of Clan Legend, said: “We won’t forget today, that’s for sure.
“I’m sad for Henry Brooke, who missed out riding him today because of a nasty injury, but I’m delighted for the horse.
“He’s a great jumper, but I also knew also knew all the other horses were very good jumpers, and I just thought missing the fences out might help – I’m not sure if he’d have won that if they’d jumped all the fences and I hope the handicapper takes that into account.
“He’s been a tremendous servant to the yard – we’re very lucky to have him.”
A return to Aintree for a tilt at the Grand National is likely to be the main objective for Lake View Lad, who carries the same colours as the late Many Clouds, who won the National in 2015 and this race in 2016 for owner Trevor Hemmings.
Alexander added: “I’ve always wanted to him to have one chance against the Gold Cup horses, because he’s usually carrying big weights in handicaps, and everything was perfect for him today – the ground and the track – so today was the day to do it.
“We were thinking about going for the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby on Boxing Day, but we might have handicapped ourselves out of that now and we could look at something like the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham at the end of January.
“There’s also a Pattern race at Kelso in February, which would a prep for the National.”
