KILBEGGAN BLADE is in great shape ahead of his bid for the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree this Saturday.
Tom George reported everything has gone fine for his 10-year-old, who is currently a best-priced 25-1 with Ladbrokes, William Hill, totesport, Victor Chandler, Betfred and Boylesports.
Kilbeggan Blade has won three and been second on his four starts this term over both fences and hurdles and will be partnered by Grand National-winning jockey Graham Lee on Saturday.
George said: “We’ve been delighted with his preparation and we hope next week goes as smoothly as the last four months. It’s going to be very difficult, but things have gone the way we have wanted them to.
“We are now just hoping he puts in a good show on Saturday.
“We’ll just carry on as normal in the next week – nothing too dramatic. He’ll do one faster piece of work in midweek and then it’s the big day after that.”
Riding plans for Saturday’s big race are taking shape as Nigel Twiston-Davies confirmed jockey bookings for his four runners.
Twiston-Davies is bidding for a third Grand National success following the victories of Earth Summit in 1998 and Bindaree four years later.
The Naunton trainer saddles Knowhere, Battlecry, Ollie Magern and Fundamentalist and he said: “Paddy Brennan rides Knowhere, Tom Scudamore will be on Battlecry, Tom Molloy is on Ollie Magern and David England on Fundamentalist.
“They are all coming along very good.
“It would be lovely to win the race again.”
David Pipe is not overly concerned about Comply Or Die’s big weight rise as he looks to become the first since the great Red Rum to win back-to-back Grand Nationals.
Pipe put the blinkers – which Comply Or Die wore in last year’s National – back on last time after the 10-year-old had disappointed on his two previous starts this season. He returned to something like his best form to finish seventh in the William Hill Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival.
As always with the Pipe National runners, Comply Or Die has been schooling over the stables’ purpose-built Aintree style fences.
The Pond House handler said: “He ran a lot better than he has been at Cheltenham last time out and we schooled him and the other horse I’m thinking of running in the National, Arteea over the Aintree-style fences on Saturday. Both went well.”
Comply Or Die is 15lbs higher in the handicap than last year and will carry 11st6lb compared to 10st11lb last April.
Pipe, though, is hopeful that Comply Or Die – a best-priced 18-1 with William Hill – can overcome the burden.
He said: “The price tells you he has a chance. He has a lot more weight but the market also tells you that isn’t much of a problem as all bar four of the top 10 in the list look set to carry more than 11st.”
Pipe also said another defending champion, last year’s totesport Bowl winner Our Vic, is “in as good a form as he has ever been” despite disappointing since his victory 12 months ago.
Meanwhile Davy Russell, who will partner either former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner War Of Attrition or Irish Grand National winner Hear The Echo in Saturday’s National, is expected to recover from a thumb injury he suffered in a fall at Navan on Saturday and ride at Aintree. He is expected back at Gowran Park on Wednesday.
Dominic Elsworth, who is due to Darkness, will have a scan on a sore shoulder today after he injured it in a fall at Towcester on Thursday.
TODAY’S NAP: Hard Ball (4.30pm Lingfield)
