Marvellous Martaline makes it a Grade 1 double at the National meeting

Martaline clinched a Grade 1 double at the Aintree Grand National meeting as son Terrefort stuck on gamely to land the Betway Mildmay Novices' Chase on Friday.

One day earlier We Have A Dream, also by Haras de Montaigu's marvellous dual-purpose sire, was a wide-margin winner of the Doom Bar Anniversary 4yo Juvenile Hurdle.

Both horses are owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, who have another by Martaline – the useful Ucello Conti – set to carry their colours in the Randox Health Grand National on Saturday.

The 19-year-old Martaline has amassed an unimpeachable progeny record that is headed by fellow British and Irish top-flight winners Disko, Dynaste and Very Wood, as well as the French champion Kotkikova.

A Group 2-winning son of Linamix and a brother to fellow sires of Grade 1 winners Coastal Path and Reefscape, Martaline commands a fee of €15,000 at Montaigu and is regularly booked out long before the breeding season begins.

The Nicky Henderson-trained Terrefort is now three out of four in Britain, having previously raced in France under the stewardship of Guillaume Macaire. He also won the Scilly Isles Novices' Chase in February and was second to Shattered Love in the JLT Novices' Chase at Cheltenham last month.

The five-year-old was bred in France by Francis Montauban out of Vie De Reine, a daughter of Mansonnien who won a Grade 3 over fences in France and is the dam of seven winners in total.

Five of the dam's foals have black type over jumps including one who will be familiar to British and Irish racing fans in Gary Moore's Listed-winning chaser Vino Griego.

Another of her offspring, the unraced Ballingarry mare Vuelta Al Ruedo, is the dam of the smart jumper Chic Name, a decent fifth in the Glenfarclas Chase at the Cheltenham Festival last month.

Further back it is the family of Prix Penelope winner Good To Beat and her son Grand Fleuve, runner-up in the Prix Ganay.

Vie De Reine has a three-year-old son by French Fifteen named Mont Segur and a two-year-old colt by Motivator called Reinator.

Also at Aintree...

Lalor scored an emotional victory for Kayley Woollacott, widow of late trainer Richard, in the Grade 1 Betway Top Novices' Hurdle.

The six-year-old was bred in Germany by Stall 5 Stars and is by Group 2 winner It's Gino – perhaps best known for dead-heating for third at 150-1 behind Zarkava in the Arc – out of the winning Waky Nao mare Laviola.

Politologue outbattled Min to take the Grade 1 JLT Melling Chase by a neck for trainer Paul Nicholls and owner John Hales.

He is by the late, great Poliglote – also sire of Don Poli, Hinterland and Top Notch – and was bred by Madame Henri Devin out of the Listed-winning hurdler Scarlet Row, a daughter of Turgeon.

Ultragold capped a great day for French-breds by recording back-to-back victories in the Grade 3 Randox Health Topham Chase.

Colin Tizzard's ten-year-old is a son of Kapgarde – also on the podium with Thursday's Betway Bowl third Clan Des Obeaux – and is a half-brother to this season's Hennessy fourth Braqueur D'Or out of Hot D'Or, an unraced sister to the great chaser First Gold. Gilles Chaignon is the horse's breeder.

Richard and Lizzie Kelvin-Hughes's homebred Santini was a gallant winner of the Grade 1 Doom Bar Sefton Novices' Hurdle, having finished third in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle last month.

The Nicky Henderson-trained six-year-old is by Grange Stud stalwart Milan, whose many high-achieving runners include last term's Grand National hero One For Arthur. He is a half-brother to Grade 2-placed hurdler Dusky Legend out of the winning Sleeping Car mare Tinagoodnight.

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