DonaldMcCain

14.00 2m Grade 2 Novices' Hurdle

Agent Archie

He looked a good prospect when winning his first two starts and he probably had a bit too much use made of him at Cheltenham last time. I think this flatter track should be more suitable and we will ride him with a bit more restraint. He continues to work very well at home and if he does improve for this track, he could go very well.


15.40 2m5f Handicap Chase

Fabalu

I've been desperate to run him over the National fences for a couple of seasons and although it's a drop in trip, they will go a lick and bring his stamina into play. It's always a competitive race but he has a lovely racing weight and if he can get into a rhythm in the early stages, he is the type of horse who could run a big race.


16.15 3m Grade 1 Novices' Hurdle

Golden Call

I think he deserves to take his chance in a better race and the experience he has picked up in a couple of handicaps will stand him in good stead. He's eight and will go over fences at some stage so there's no harm in having a crack. He has done well at home since his last win and although this is obviously a good race, he is very tough and stays very well.


16.50 2m4f Handicap Hurdle

Bourne

Ultimately he was a shade disappointing at Cheltenham last time but he probably got to the front soon enough. His earlier Ascot win where he beat World Hurdle third Smad Place is very solid and I think he is still on a good mark - he is still learning in these big handicaps and there is more to come. His work has been good in the build up to the race and if he benefits from a more patient ride, you would have to think he could go very well.


17.25 2m Bumper

Diligent

She improved on her debut run at Doncaster when she won very easily at Catterick last month and you would have to think she would improve for a more galloping track. She does things very well at home and looks well worth this step up in grade.


Doyly Carte

She's a half-sister to Dandino but she's a big filly and took a while to come to herself. She looked good when running away with a Catterick bumper on her debut and I think she probably got a bit bogged down in the ground at Kelso last time. They are both very nice horses and it would be hard to split them.


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Aintree

14.00 3m Hurdle - Across The Bay

He's probably too high in the weights to win one of the handicaps and the owners were happy to come here. He's obviously up against it with Big Buck's in the field and if he could just nick some prize money that would be a bonus.


14.30 2m 4yo Hurdle - Gottany O'S

You can put a line through his last run - every time I send a good horse to Hexham they get beaten and I vow not to run another one there! He's much better than that and if he could return to his Newbury form, he wouldn't be without a chance. It's obviously a very good race but it's worth remembering he was smart on the Flat and if he can just get it all together, he certainly isn't out of place in a race like this. He's got local connectiosn and, having missed Cheltenham, he deserves a chance in a big race.


15.40 2m5f Hunter Chase - Cloudy Lane

I didn't feel he really had the run of things at Cheltenham but he ran well enough and he should be a force in a race like this with a clear round. He has the benefit of having jumped round here in the past and although he is dropping back in trip, he isn't short of gears and should be able to cope. You need a bit of luck in a race like this but, if he gets it, there's no reason why he couldn't go very close.


16.15 2m Handicap Chase - Tara Royal

I think he's my first runner in the Red Rum Chase and it would be nice to have one good enough to win it one day. I think the track here will suit him more than Cheltenham but the experience there should stand him in good stead - he hasn't had many goes in big-field handicaps. He's in grand form at home and as long as the track doesn't have too much more rain, he wouldn't be without a chance.


17.25 3m Handicap Hurdle - Son Of Flicka

It's never easy to gauge what mark Cheltenham has left on horses but he seems in good form at home and he did win well in the Coral Cup - the second's won since too. We didn't find out about his stamina for 3m when he fell at the first in this race 12 months ago - a fall that did set him back a bit - but I thought that the 2 ½ mile race might be on the sharp side for him round here. He shouldn't be far away if he is over his Cheltenham exertions.


Reindeer Dippin

He won't mind it if it keeps on raining and I actually thought he ran a really nice race in the Pertemps Final. He wouldn't be the best handicapped in the race but he's tough, he stays and he has run well at this track in the past, including when he was second at this meeting 12 months ago.


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After a lengthy discussion with the owners, we have decided that Weird Al will join Ballabriggs in Saturday's Grand National.

We just felt that he might not get the chance to run off such an attractive mark in the future and that he might be the sort of horse who would really take to the place - in the end, it's the Grand National and the decision really took care of itself.

He was obviously below par in the Gold Cup but he bled there and it clearly wasn't his true running - he has looked in great nick at home since.

Timmy Murphy, who rode him to win the Charlie Hall, will take the ride


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13.30 2m Grade 1 Hurdle
Hollow Tree
I don't think he needs soft ground but he handles it so well that the news they have been watering is encouraging. This will be a very different test to anything he has experienced before but he has a lovely way of going about things and I don't think it will faze him. He has had to do a lot of the work himself in his races up until now but he should get some company this time and he might appreciate running past horses, rather than being the target for them to aim at. It's clearly a very tough race but he's a Grade 1 winner who hasn't run a bad race since we had him and he shouldn't be far away.

14.05 2m Handicap Hurdle
Desert Cry
It's been a frustrating campaign for him as every time he has run in one of these big handicaps, they haven't gone a proper gallop. It would be a surprise if they don't go flat out here though and he deserves a change of luck - the worry for me is that Cheltenham might not be the ideal track for him but he takes his chance and if he runs as well as most of them have this week, he could go well. I still feel he is handicapped to win one of these competitive races.

15.20 3m2f Gold Cup
Weird Al
It's the Gold Cup and I am under no illusions about the size of the task he faces, especially if the obvious two run to their best. That said, his preparations for the race have gone smoothly and this has been the big target for him all year. He is in rude health at home, he should find the race being run to suit him and he goes well at the track. I can't be too confident - it's the Gold Cup after all - but I would think he had to have a good each-way chance at least.

16.00 3m2f Hunter Chase
Cloudy Lane
I have gone on record as saying he was my best chance of the week and that puts the pressure on! Look, he's a grand horse who has been a wonderful servant for us over the years and I am sure he will go well under these conditions. There's a huge field and you always need a bit of luck, but he has a history of running well in these big-field events and that wouldn't be the case for many of his rivals. He's got a rider who knows him, he jumps, he stays and fingers crossed he will justify the faith in him.

16.40 2m4f Handicap Hurdle
Bourne
He surprised us a bit at Ascot but that was his first run in a handicap and the stronger pace seemed to suit him very well. He's gone up in the weights as a consequence but he's lightly raced and improving and his recent work has been very good. Henry [Brooke] knows him well which is a bonus and he still has more improvement in him at this sort of trip. He's a lovely horse and you would have to think he would go close for the Timeform Betfair Racing Club under the conditions.

Tornado Bob
The season has been a disaster for him really - he had a horrible fall at Haydock and hasn't really got it together since. He didn't quite get home in the ground last time but the shorter trip and better ground should be in his favour. If he could bounce back to his best form he would have a cracking chance and it's good that John [Kington] can ride him as he has ridden him nearly every day for the last two years at home. He's obviously got a bit to prove but it would be nice to see him run a bit better as he has had a rough time of it this year.

17.15 2m Handicap Chase
Tara Royal
This has been the target for him for two years - he got injured last winter and missed a chunk of racing - and he comes here on the back of a good win at Musselburgh. He's up in the weights as a result and this track couldn't be more different, but I have never made a secret that I think a fair bit of him and he's flying at home. It is a very competitive event but the way things have been going this week, you couldn't discount him.

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13:30 2m4f Grade 2 Novices' Chase

Peddlers Cross

Things obviously haven't gone quite as we were hoping for him and the injury he picked up at Kempton did set him back for a while. He does look to have turned everything round in the last fortnight though and he worked very nicely yesterday - I have absolutely no complaints about where we are with him now. The trip, the ground and the track are all right up his street and if he turns up on his 'A' game, he's going to be very hard to beat.

14:05 3m Handicap Hurdle

Reindeer Dippin/Across The Bay

They both fall into the same category in that they have been running hard and well for much of the winter and they deserve to take their chance. Because they have had plenty of racing, they aren't going there with the 10lb up their sleeve that you need in these races but they are good, honest horses, the owners were keen to run and they certainly aren't out of place in a race like this.

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13:30 4m Novice Chase

Lively Baron

He is obviously up in grade here and has a bit to find on the ratings but I have run better horses than him who haven't got home here and the one thing he will do is stay. He will love the ground and, as long as he can get into a rhythm early on, he might outrun his odds. As I say, he will be staying on when others have had enough and it wouldn't surprise me to see him give a good account.

16:00 2m5f Handicap Hurdle

Son of Flicka

He ran a screamer when he was second in the 'boys' race last year and he has been aimed at this meeting all season. He wasn't in much form earlier in the year but his work has been better in recent weeks and he does seem to be coming to himself - he's back down to a more realistic mark and the conditions should suit him well. It's obviously a very hard race but the signs at home have been more encouraging of late.

16:40 2m Handicap Hurdle

Kie

I thought he ran well at Musselburgh last time and his only bad run came when he was sick after Kempton. He's a tough, likeable juvenile but he has his share of weight and doesn't look all that well handicapped. He's a trier and his experience will serve him well, but you would think there might be a few down the weights that were better treated.

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13:30 2m Grade 1 Hurdle

Cinders And Ashes

I've always thought a lot of him and he has been going well at home since his last run. There has been lots of talk about him doing his winning on heavy ground but that's because I have made him run on heavy ground, not because he wants it. I fully expect him to improve for the better ground, his hurdling has been very slick so far and he has to go there with a leading chance.

Agent Archie

He has crept under the radar a bit but he has been bouncing at home since he won at Newcastle and that run has brought him forward. I think my fears that he might be a flat-track 2m horse may have been slightly misplaced and Jason [Maguire] doesn't think the track will bother him at all. If I didn't have Cinders And Ashes in the race, I would be delighted with Agent Archie and he does look a big price at 33/1.

14:40 3m Handicap Chase

Our Mick

He is up against some more experienced horses here and he might not be thrown in off his current mark, but I am sure he will improve for this longer trip and, if he does, he has to be considered. He is still a novice and he will need to jump well - if he can get into a nice rhythm in the early part of the race though, I can see him going well.

15:20 Champion Hurdle

Overturn

He's absolutely bouncing at home and I couldn't be more pleased with him at this stage. It's hard to imagine we could have got any faster ground for the first day of the Festival than we have and that is in his favour. He's fresh and well, and his recent piece of work at Bangor was spectacular - I'm under no illusions about this being easy, but he will go out and do his thing and it will be up to the others to try and catch him.

16:40 2m4f Grade 2 Hurdle

Dorabelle

You wouldn't think she would be good enough in a race like this but she's a well-bred mare and if she could sneak some Black Type then it would be a huge bonus.

17.15 2m4f Handicap Chase

Charminster

He's in grand nick at home and this has been the plan for some time. He had the fright of his life when he ran here in January - having been used to small-field events up north, he found things happening considerably quicker and took a while to sort his jumping out. He did get better as the race went on though, he proved his stamina for the trip and the strong pace and big fences shouldn't be so alien to him this time. He has been schooled hard since that run, his work has been very good and if he can get into a nice rhythm in the early stages, I think he could run a very big race.

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Although Ballabriggs has been given a big weight [11-9], I am not surprised and I certainly haven't got a problem with it.

My father always argued that there should be some sort of 'Aintree factor' and having been brought up in an era of previous Grand National winners having big weights, I really can't complain.

He's won the race before, he's a big strong horse who can carry the weight and the fact he is proven at Aintree offsets a couple of extra pounds.

I fully expect him to carry top weight on the day but, as I say, it isn't a surprise and all we can do is get him there in the best shape we can.

I am hoping to give him a racecourse gallop at Haydock at the weekend and then it's hopefully on to Kelso in early March for his reappearance.

Weird Al has been given a fair weight [11-8] but, to be honest, I am not thinking any further than the Cheltenham Gold Cup with him.

Obviously we will have to have a look depending on what happens there but Cheltenham is the main target.

Wymott [10-2] would have a nice racing weight if he was able to get in but I would think it was unlikely that he would get a run.

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13.15 3m1f Beginners' Chase

Alexander Road

She's back up in trip and she clearly needed the run at Wetherby more than I thought. She's a likeable mare so I was a bit disappointed last time, but this doesn't look the strongest novice chase and I would think she ought to go well. She jumps very well at home and if she can get into a rhythm round here, she has a decent chance.

13.45 2m Novice Hurdle

Star In Flight

He's got a penalty in a tougher race than last time but he did win very easily and I think that his previous experience of Catterick will stand him in good stead. The ground is drying out which will help him and although he is a bit fizzy, this track suits him as he can pop off in front and get into a rhythm. John Ferguson's horse [Cry Of Freedom] is obviously a danger but I think he will have to be quite useful to get the better of ours.

14.15 3m6f Handicap Chase

Cool Mission

He is notoriously lazy and it is going to be a real test for Jason - I have arranged for an oxygen tent at halfway - but this is the sort of race I always envisaged him ending up in and he has plenty of ability. He travelled a bit better in the blinkers last time but he got back from Bangor and he wasn't quite right. You couldn't back him on what he has shown this season but hopefully he will get a bit nearer to last season's form this time.

15.15 2m Handicap Chase

Lucky Landing

He's been very disappointing really because he looked like he was getting the hang of things at Carlisle. The drop back to 2m is me clutching at straws - I also thought I would never run him left handed again - but this didn't look like being much of a race and it looked worth the risk.

15.45 2m Bumper

Smadynium

He's a really nice little horse - only a 4yo - but I like the way he goes about his business at home. I don't know much about his pedigree but he's a grand little lad and this wouldn't be the strongest bumper ever run. I would be hopeful that he would be in the first four and anything more than that would be a bonus.

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12.20 3m Handicap Hurdle - Code Blue

I think that the trip in testing ground at a galloping track like Haydock should be right up his street. Henry Brooke gets to claim off him which is a bonus and it doesn't look the strongest race for the track. He ought to give a good account.


12.50 2m4f Handicap Chase - Mr Chippy

This is a step up in class for him but he goes on the ground and I think he just struggled to get home over further at Hexham last time. He had a hard race there but he has been fine at home since and this shorter trip should suit. He has a nice weight here and I would think he had a decent chance.


13.25 2m Novice Hurdle - Cinders And Ashes

I was really pleased with him at Aintree and if he copes with this ground, he will be very hard to beat. It was pretty testing on that occasion and I think he will be fine, but that would be more of a concern than the opposition. He has loads of ability and although Sue Smith's horse is a promising type, he shouldn't be good enough to beat us.

Great Boss

He is like many of our young horses in that they are bred to come into their own over fences. He did well enough at Towcester on his debut but he is likely to need this first experience over hurdles.

Karrical

He's related to a couple of useful performers but he is proving something of a slow learner and he will need further than this in time. The experience will do him good though.


15.10 2m4f Novice Hurdle - Sydney Paget

I have made no secret that I really like him but the day revolves around what will handle the ground best and he does have to prove he wants it this deep. It doesn't look a bad race with Richard Lee's horse [Knock A Hand] and Dark Glacier both having shown plenty of ability. He made a few mistakes at Bangor but they were just novicey errors and I don't think he will be concerned by the fixed brush hurdles - he was runner-up in an Irish point after all.

15.40 2m4f Handicap Hurdle - Chester Lad

He will enjoy this testing ground and he has run well on both his runs for us this winter. He is due to go chasing soon so I think the switch to the fixed brush hurdles will do him some good - he wasn't that fluent at Musselburgh. He is still on a mark he can win a hurdle off though and he would have a solid chance.


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