Fox Norton and Sub Lieutenant head hunt for Melling riches
Fox Norton and Sub Lieutenant, second in the Queen Mother and Ryanair Chase respectively at the Cheltenham Festival, head a field of nine in the JLT Melling Chase at Aintree on Friday.
Colin Tizzard's Fox Norton finished with a rattle to be beaten just a head by Special Tiara in the Champion Chase and steps up in trip while Henry de Bromhead's Sub Lieutenant got to within a length and a half of Un De Sceaux in the Ryanair.
Last year's winner God's Own, who threw away his chance in the Queen Mother with two bad blunders, will aim for back-to-back wins for Tom George.
Alan King's Uxizandre will be reunited with Barry Geraghty as he looks to put behind him a disappointing seventh place in the Ryanair .
Kerry Lee runs both Kylemore Lough and Top Gamble while Nicky Henderson is represented by Josses Hill.
The Philip Hobbs-trained Royal Regatta and Gary Moore's Traffic Fluide complete the field.