Razor Royale has been trimmed to 40/1 for Grand National glory after landing Saturday’s feature race, the Racing Post Chase at Kempton.

Paddy Brennan on board the eight-year-old had to withstand a late charge from Tony McCoy riding last year’s winner Nacarat and a blunder at the last, but managed to do just that and land the spoils at 11/1 for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies.

Assistant trainer Carl Llewellyn admitted he had feared defeat but believes that Razor Royale’s jumping is improving and that he may well go to Cheltenham before the National.

“He won well at Cheltenham a few starts back but at Sandown last time he made early mistakes and never recovered and he nearly threw it away today,” Llewellyn said.

“I thought AP (McCoy) would get him after the last as he’s the last man you want to see there, but he found plenty.

“He found plenty after the last on ground that is deep enough.

“His jumping is getting better and he could be a National horse. We will see how he comes out of it but he could go to Cheltenham first.”

Tricky Trickster remains the favourite at 12/1 for the Aintree showpiece, ahead of Backstage, Big Fella Thanks, Black Apalachi, Niche Market and Vic Venturi all at 16/1, while Possol is on offer at 20/1.