Smad Place showed he is still a force to be reckoned with as Alan King's 10-year-old won a battle of the greys in the 188Bet Monet's Garden Old Roan Limited Handicap Chase at Aintree.
Cloudy Dream loomed up menacingly in the straight and looked a big threat, but Smad Place (12-1) would not be denied.
Jumping into the lead three from home, the 2015 Hennessy Gold Cup hero was given a reminder by Wayne Hutchinson before taking the last better than Cloudy Dream and galloping on stoutly to score by three-quarters of a length.
Oldgrangewood was nine lengths away in third.
Hutchinson said: "That was fantastic. There's still life in the old boy yet. The ground is a bit slower than last year and he's a bit lower in the weights. It turned into a staying race up the straight and that obviously suited him.
"He's a little bit caught between two stools as he's not good enough to win a Gold Cup or a King George, but he doesn't know how to run a bad race and doesn't owe the yard or me anything."
Trainer Malcolm Jefferson said of Cloudy Dream: "He ran a blinder. He's settling down now and settled into the race and jumped well.
"He's in the race at Cheltenham next month (BetVictor Gold Cup) and he'll probably go for that, as long as the ground is suitable.
"I'm sure he'll get three miles now he's settling more in his races. I'm very happy with him.
"I'd liked to have won, but he's come to Liverpool and run another good race."
