LITTON Cheney athlete Nigel Gates cantered to victory in the men’s British and Irish Masters International Cross Country championships at Aintree.

Gates, running for England in the over-65 category, led home the competition with a stunning time of 22:28 on the 6,000m course.

Sport lovers on Merseyside would have been more accustomed to seeing the finest National Hunt horses testing their mettle on the hallowed Aintree turf, but the racecourse provided a magnificent backdrop as the Masters runners battled it out.

Gates ran with the leading group for two laps before easing away to win on the final circuit, beating countryman David Butler by 14 seconds. Ireland’s Paul Elliot claimed third in a time of 23:02.

This ended a successful season for Gates, who earlier in the year set British over-65 records for one mile and five miles on the road and for 3,000 metres on the track.

The leading male in the over-70 class was Northern Ireland’s Terry Eakin, who finished in 25:05 and claimed 15th place overall.

Scotland’s Ann White was the fastest woman in the race, her time of 27:18 good enough for 28th overall, 16 seconds ahead of compatriot Jane Waterhouse in the over-65 class. Taking third was England’s Dorothy Kesterton, four seconds behind Waterhouse.