Grand National favourite Blaklion finished second at Haydock on Saturday afternoon, losing out to 8-1 shot Yala Enki, BBC report.
Yala Enki, the eight year old trained by Venetia Williams, claimed the National Trial Handicap by a staggering 54 lengths as only three of the eight starters managed to finish the race.
Blaklion, ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies, struggled to keep the pace on the heavy ground and never mounted a serious challenge to the eventual winner during the three miles four-and-a-half furlongs.
Mysteree was the only other finisher, coming in to cross the line 20 lengths adrift of Blaklion.
Twiston-Davies, who has been given the go ahead by boss Paul Nicholls to continue the partnership with Blaklion in the Grand National itself, said a number of factors contributed to the poor showing.
He just got very tired. Carrying that weight in that ground took its toll and we just took him straight back to the stables.
Twiston-Davies and Nicholls will be hoping to brush this result aside, as they look towards the National in April.
