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| Aintree Grand National Meeting 2010 |
grand national 2010 / entries /
Jimmy Mangan Pair on Course for Grand National
01/04/10
Trainer Jimmy Mangan is hoping to be doubly represented in this year’s £925,000 John Smith’s Grand National, although the Co Cork handler is sweating over whether Whinstone Boy will make the final line up alongside stable companion Conna Castle.
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Connections will be hoping that the progressive nine-year-old gelding makes the cut as three of the Whinstone Syndicate were also involved in the Dee Syndicate that landed a huge gamble in the 2003 John Smith’s Grand National with the Mangan-trained Monty’s Pass.
Whinstone Boy has triumphed on both his previous starts, following up a game victory in the valuable Thyestes Handicap Chase at Gowran Park on January 21 with an all-the-way success in a Clonmel chase on February 4.
Mangan revealed: “At the moment, both horses will be going over for the John Smith’s Grand National, although it is going to be tight if Whinstone Boy gets into the race. I will probably give him an entry in the John Smith’s smithythehorse.com Handicap Hurdle on Friday as well, so he could take his chance in that if he misses the cut for the big one.
“He is loving all of this rain at the moment and the key to him is cut in the ground - the softer the better. If the going came up too fast, then he wouldn’t run at Aintree, but I can’t see that happening in this weather.
“He would have a perfect racing weight if he got in the John Smith’s Grand National and hopefully Sean Flanagan will be on board him again. We will have a better idea of where we stand after the five-day confirmations on Monday.
“Three of the owners were involved with Monty’s Pass, so they have tasted the big glory before, although the prize money has gone up a bit since then!”
While Mangan faces an anxious wait with Whinstone Boy, Conna Castle (10st 9lb) is all set to take his chance in the John Smith’s Grand National. The 11-year-old boasts top-class form, having beaten this year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Big Zeb in the Grade One Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse in March, 2008.
On his latest start, Conna Castle was in the process of running a big race, lying in second when unseating Pat Mangan, the trainer’s son, at the final fence in a Thurles chase on February 26.
Mangan continued: “Conna Castle was a bit unlucky last time out and he would have been a good second to Let Yourself Go, who is going for the Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse over the weekend. It was still a great run on very heavy ground and he prefers better going.
“We missed the John Smith’s Grand National last year with him but he’s 11 now and we decided that he deserved to have a crack at the race. He has run well on the Mildmay course before, including when coming second in the Top Novices’ Hurdle there four years ago.”
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David Pipe is also hoping to have several runners in next week’s John Smith’s Grand National including the David Johnson-owned pair of The Package (10st 7lb), a fast-finishing second in the William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, and Comply Or Die (11st 5lb), who gave his trainer the biggest success of his career when winning the Aintree showpiece in 2008 and was runner-up to Mon Mome 12 months ago.
In an interview with At The Races, the Pond House trainer also revealed that he is considering letting last year’s totesport Bowl victor Madison Du Berlais (11st 10lb), take his chance in the John Smith’s Grand National, while Pablo Du Charmil (11st 2lb) and Piraya (10st 7lb) are also on course for the four and a half mile chase.
Pipe commented: “At the moment, we are leaning towards the John Smith’s Grand National with Madison Du Berlais. He is entered in the Scottish Grand National and it was interesting to read that Denman is likely to run in that race with top weight. We also have him entered at Punchestown and we may well enter him in the totesport Bowl at Aintree, which he won last year.
“His best form has been on the flat tracks and he put up a great performance last year at Aintree. He won’t mind what the ground is like and he is in good form at home at the moment - he probably hasn’t been running up to his best rating this season but has still picked up a lot of good prize money along the way.
“Timmy (Murphy) hasn’t decided which one out of Comply Or Die and The Package he will ride - they are both in good order. Comply Or Die obviously has the form round Aintree having been second in the race last season and won it the year before. He has got the track record and is proven round there and jumps the fences well.
“He ran well at Cheltenham, where he got tired at the top of the hill. The run has brought him on a lot - he hadn’t run since November and he is not a horse who does an awful lot at home. He is a year older and a year wiser now and he still shows all of the same enthusiasm. I am sure that when he gets to Aintree in April, he will be lit up.
“The Package is more of an unknown quantity - he ran a great race at Cheltenham and would have won in another five strides. He is another very good jumper and he is 6lb well in for the John Smith’s Grand National. You never know deep down whether he will stay the marathon trip but, the way he races and jumps, I would be surprised if he didn’t.
“It’s a very tough decision for Timmy and I know that he is thinking long and hard about it. They are both good jumpers, which you need round the National course, but it’s a question of whether you go for the brilliant Comply Or Die or the less exposed The Package.
“Piraya will also run in the John Smith’s Grand National and Pablo Du Charmil is a possibility as well - we will school him over our National fences at home before making a decision. “
The John Smith’s Grand National is the feature contest of the fantastic three-day John Smith’s Grand National Meeting at Aintree - Thursday, April 8 to Saturday, April 10.
