Cue Card gained compensation for his Gold Cup heartache with a brilliant victory in the Betfred Bowl at Aintree.
Colin Tizzard‘s star chaser fell three out at Cheltenham last month just as Paddy Brennan had brought him through to challenge to leave connections with a feeling of what might have been as he chased a £1million bonus.
However, there was no such drama on Merseyside as Cue Card jumped to the front three out and cruised to a third Grade 1 success of the season from Don Poli.
The Willie Mullins pair of Djakadam and Don Poli, who finished second and third in the Gold Cup respectively, were at the fore throughout the 3m1f contest.
Brennan was content to sit in fourth for most of the race on Cue Card as Djakadam made a mistake at the first fence down the back straight on the final circuit.
Don Poli, who was ridden much more positively than in the Gold Cup, drew alongside his stablemate as Cue Card edged closer to the Mullins pair.
Turning into the home straight, Cooper started to get lower in the saddle on Don Poli and Djakadam found little as Cue Card challenged between the pair.
He hit the front jumping the third last and cantered clear before producing clean leaps at the final two fences.
Cue Card was eased down to rapturous cheers from the stands near the line as he won by nine lengths from Don Poli, with Djakadam a further eight lengths back in third.
