COLIN Tizzard’s stable stalwart Cue Card failed to defend his Betway Bowl crown as he was beaten by 10-1 shot Tea For Two at Aintree.

The leading pair, who both failed to complete in last month’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, battled to the line but it was Lizzie Kelly’s mount who edged out the popular Dorset horse, who went off a 2-1 favourite.

It looked like Tizzard’s Cue Card would claim the spoils that he won 12 months ago, after opening up a lead over the fourth-last with a bold leap.

But it was on the run down to the last that the younger legs of Tea For Two asserted and, after meeting the final fence on a good stride, Kelly kept her willing partner up to the task to defeat the rallying Cue Card by a fast-diminishing neck.

Jockey Kelly said: “That was fantastic.

“We were quietly confident going into the Gold Cup when our dreams were taken away from us.

“This means more than winning the Grade One at Kempton on him.

“I didn’t really appreciate that at the time, but this is special.

“Next year’s Gold Cup dream is still alive.”