Monbeg Dude 2014 Gold Cup

He has won on good ground and looks like he has improved,but this years GC looks a hot race.

see it somewhere today monbeg dude is being aimed at  gold cup then national ,welsh national winners have a decnt record good luck

Michael Scudamore is still debating which way to prepare Monbeg Dude ahead of his main assignment of the Crabbie's Grand National.

An outing over fences at some point in late February or early March would appear to be Scudamore's preference at the moment, although another start in the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup, in which he was pulled up last year, is less favoured.

Last season's Welsh National winner struck for the first time since that occasion when taking a Grade Three at Cheltenham's December meeting, sparking Aintree dreams for his syndicate of owners, rugby players Mike Tindall, James Simpson-Daniel and Nicky Robinson, while Tindall's wife Zara Phillips has been coaching Monbeg Dude in the jumping department.

"He had a couple of weeks off but he's back cantering and is in great form," said Scudamore.

"I think it's really all roads to the National, and I don't think he will run again until the weights come out. He's a novice over hurdles, so that's an option, but he jumped so well last time you might want to keep him over fences.

"There aren't a whole lot of options over fences in between, and I haven't spoken to the boys yet.

"I might put him in the Gold Cup, just in case he didn't take to schooling over the Aintree fences or something, but it would be very much an outside chance he'd go for it. He would have a lot to find on the ratings and it's just over three weeks away from the National."

He aint gonna win,but big prices do get in the money.
He has the profile of a GN winner to me.

Paul Nicholls is usually pretty straighforward with informatin on his runners so barring disasters Tidal Bay goes to the Grand National.

AFAIK it's less clear cut with Long Run but he's not up to winning another Gold Cup (or G1 3 m chase) so with Sam Waley-Cohen's decent record over the National Fences and the National Fences being light years from the test they used to be, LR's suspect jumping may not be much of an issue as one might think regarding the National - my bet is he goes for the National straight away (maybe with a prep race over hurdles even) and win lose or draw is retired straight after.

All of which makes having a stab at framing the weights for the National this far in advance, a lot easier this year and Monbeg Dude should get in under 11 stones IMO.