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| John Smith's Grand National - 14th April 2012 |
Williams Trio Have Aintree Agenda
17/01/12
Vale of Glamorgan trainer Evan Williams is looking forward to the publication of the weights next month as he plans a three-pronged challenge for the Aintree Grand National with with Cappa Bleu, Deep Purple and State Of Play.
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The 12-year-old State Of Play who finished fourth last year, third in 2010 and fourth in 2009, looks set to head straight back to Aintree without having a preparation run.
Cappa Bleu won on his seasonal reappearance at Haydock before placing third in the Welsh National at Chepstow and Williams has been delighted with his charge since.
The trainer said: "He's come out of the race really well and we learned plenty about him at Chepstow. The ground was not what we wanted, but I think he showed there is no doubt he stays a trip and it was also nice to see him put two solid back-to-back runs together.
"He'll be entered for the Grand National 2012, along with State Of Play and Deep Purple, and none of them will run again before the weights are released. We'll see what the handicapper gives each of them and then decide if we're going to Aintree and if we are, what route we're going to take."
Having shown high-class form over two-and-a-half and three miles at the peak of his career, Deep Purple stunned his trainer by landing the three-mile-five-furlong London National at Sandown at the start of December.
"It was a strange one at Sandown as he ran in the race as a bit of an experiment really and I was very shocked," Williams added.
"He hadn't done any hard work beforehand, but he was very well and very fresh and that obviously helped him.
"He hasn't done any work since because there isn't much point, as this isn't his time of year. We've just kept him ticking over. He'll be entered for Aintree and like I said, we'll see what weight he gets and make a plan from there."
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The owner flew in by helicopter to Donald McCain's Bankside stables in Cheshire this morning and made clear his belief in the 11-year-old, who was ridden by Jason Maguire to a glorious victory in the Aintree marathon last year.
Hemmings revealed that Ballabriggs had enjoyed a leisurely five-month holiday in the same paddock as his other National winner Hedgehunter at his home on the Isle Of Man.
"In order to counter the extra weight he'll be given to carry, he will need to improve, but I would say there is definitely some improvement in him," he said.
"His jumping was a joy to behold on what was a great day for all of us. Liverpool is special. It has great banter and is the only place where you'll be insulted and love it! However, Grand National day 2011 belonged to Ginger. He was there to see his son do it (win the National) and there were tears in his eyes."
Hemmings was spurred towards his ambition of owning a Grand National winner by the late Fred Pontin, owner of 1971 winner Specify.
He recalled: "I go back to the early 1970s and remember Fred saying he would leave me that trophy in his will, which he did, so I now have three Grand National winners' trophies. Realistically though, I think April 14 will be the day when maybe I hand the trophy over to somebody else."
Last year's winning time is also giving Hemmings further hope that Ballabriggs will put up another bold showing.
He added: "It was the second-fastest time in the 164-year history of the race. If he hadn't had to by-pass two fences I think he would probably have beaten Mr Frisk's best figure."
Hemmings admits that when he looks for new horses, foremost in his mind is the hope they will one day face the famous Aintree fences. "Most horses I go for have to have a glint in their eye of where Liverpool is. Ballabriggs was one of those horses," he went on.
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David Pipe's Junior is building up towards a racecourse return as connections plot a route towards the Grand National at Aintree in April.
The nine-year-old has completed a rare double during his career by winning the Ascot Stakes at the Royal meeting and the Kim Muir at the Cheltenham Festival.
He was last seen finishing down the field in the same Royal Ascot prize last June and is set for a return to the track in the near future.
However, although he has been given an entry in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Tim Palin, racing manager for owners Middleham Park Racing, does not expect him to line up if Long Run and Kauto Star are in the field.
"We gave him the Gold Cup entry mainly in case something happens to one or both of the big two. If that were to happen, the race would obviously be thrown wide open," said Palin.
"Junior is in good form. We gave him a super-long break after Royal Ascot, where he was a bit disappointing, but we felt he was maybe a bit over the top having had a hard race in the Kim Muir. Hopefully he's going to come back fresh and well and David feels he is physically much better now than when he went out into the field.
"We have a few options for a comeback run. There is the Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock on February 18. He wouldn't want very testing ground but if it happened to come up good to soft, he could well run in that.
"If we miss that there is the Grimthorpe Chase at Doncaster, which is after the weights for the National are out. There is also the option of running in a race at Kelso that Ballabriggs ran in last year before he won the National, so we have options.
"If for some reason none of those races were suitable, I suppose he could have a spin round in the Gold Cup as there is an extra week between Cheltenham and the National this year."
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Another potential National contender for Middleham Park is Gordon Elliott's Backstage, who was well beaten in the race when well fancied last year.
"He's been point-to-pointing and the plan is the Foxhunter at Cheltenham. He might have one more run in a point-to-point and we'll see how he gets on. I'd imagine he'll run in the Grand National again, but I think the days of us getting excited about Backstage running at Aintree are behind us," Palin added.
