Lane takes high road at Ayr en route to National

Feb 9 2008 by Chris Wright, Liverpool Daily Post

DONALD McCAIN jnr sends Cloudy Lane up to Ayr today in the Book Now For The Coral SGN Handicap Chase as his preparation for the John Smith’s Grand National begins in earnest.

The Trevor Hemmings-owned eight-year-old has been well backed this week for the Aintree showpiece on April 5 after the weights were unveiled in London, and he was allocated 10st8lb.

Cloudy Lane, who won the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock on his last outing in December, is now16-1 for Aintree with most bookmakers having been 25-1 earlier in the week.

McCain’s father Ginger famously won the National four times, and Cloudy Lane looks to hold decent claims of adding another success for the Cholmondeley stable.

Today he carries top weight and faces four rivals in the extended 3m1f chase in Scotland. McCain said: “Obviously top weight on soft ground is far from ideal, but we’ve had a plan and we wanted to get a couple more runs experience-wise into him before Aintree.

“I don’t think there is any point going there without getting some racing in to him. If it was anything like decent ground I’d be disappointed if he got beat, but if he gets beat it will probably be weight and ground that does it. But it is a means to an end really, we are going there to get some experience in to him.”

It is a big weekend for McCain, who is expecting a the consistent Mohayer to go close having just managed to get in to the valuable totesport Trophy Hurdle at Newbury.

Earlier on Newbury card McCain is one of the few trainers ready to take on leading Cheltenham Gold Cup fancy Denman in the Aon Chase with improving chaser Regal Heights.

Four line up in the Grade Two contest and while he is not necessarily expecting his seven-year-old to beat Denman, McCain is hoping Regal Heights can open up more options by showing he stays on his first try at three miles. McCain said: “We need to find out if he’s going to get three miles and I know it means we will be taking on Denman but he is in very good order and the ground seems right.

“If he ran in a handicap he would be lumping top weight, whereas he’ll be getting weight off them. I’ve always been taught you should never be scared of one horse, he might well stuff us but we can’t just hand him the race.

“We might be getting carried away and we might well get put in our place but we’ll give it a go. If he doesn’t get three miles he’s entered in the Ryanair at Cheltenham but he needs a bit of cut in the ground.”

WEEKEND NAPS: TODAY: Mohayer (3.20pm Newbury). TOMORROW: Leading Authority (3pm Exeter).