Albertas Run continues at Aintree
Few owners have such a deep affinity with Aintree as Trevor Hemmings. Although born in London he was brought up in the north-west and achieved a life’s ambition when Hedgehunter won the Grand National five years ago.
His colours will be carried by Cloudy Lane in this year’s race but the decision to withdraw Albertas Run, who had originally been allotted top weight of 11st 10lb, was fully vindicated when he won the highlight of the second day’s card, the Grade One John Smith’s Melling Chase.
Albertas Run had appeared to be a horse on the decline but he reached a career high when he won the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival although he was still overlooked in the market for this race for which Monet’s Garden set a searching early tempo. The grey was attacking his fences with relish but the Mildmay course can bite back and claimed Kalahari King at the second fence.
Tony McCoy kept Albertas Run in close quarters to the leader, despite a mistake at the fifth-last, and took the lead on the home turn and repel the challenge of Forpadydeplasterer for a second successive Grade One victory which also brought up the century for trainer Jonjo O’Neill.
The postscript to the race was the death of Schindlers Hunt after a fall at the third fence that left his jockey, Paddy Flood, with a suspected broken collar bone and the National ride on Vic Venturi up for grabs.
Following a day when Imperial Commander, the Cheltenham Gold Cup victor, was among a few Festival winner brought down to earth, O’Neill admitted to a few anxieties over whether Albertas Run would produce the same level of form as he did the previous month. “He came out of the race really well and was in great form all the way through but the last couple of days but, when you see a few getting turned over, you start thinking about it. But everything went according to plan,” O’Neill said.
“The ground came right for him, he jumped like a buck – he only made one mistake at the last down the back I think. I was bit worried then, but then he pinged the next couple, got the revs up and away he went again. When they came to the second-last, and he was still upsides, I thought he’d have every chance because he would stay - even though Forpadydeplasterer was cantering.
“AP loves the old horse and he knows him so well. He knows the little bits to squeeze, when to squeeze and when to leave him alone – it’s just a brilliant combination.”
Hemmings, who is battling illness, was not present on a day when his colours were carried to two-high-profile wins with Burton Port winning the matalan.co.uk Mildmay Novices' Chase. Nicky Henderson began the Cheltenham Festival with both Punchestowns and Long Run as his leading staying novice chasers but watched both of them falter as Burton Port came through to finish second to Weapons Amnesty in the RSA Chase.
And the trainer admitted that he might have been tempted to end the season there but for the owner’s intervention. “I would have said that Cheltenham was enough but Trevor loves this place – although sadly he can’t be here – Aintree means everything to Trevor. There was no point in me saying ‘he’s not going to Aintree’, I knew straight after Cheltenham that he was going to Aintree,” Henderson said.
“He’s been on the go all year and never flinched once. You’d say for a moment, turning in, it looked as though the track was getting to him a little bit but then stamina kicked in.”
Always Waining had enough stamina to win the John Smith's Topham Chase over the National fences and to give jockey Brian Hughes the perfect dress rehearsal before he rides Beat The Boys in the big race itself.
One jockey who was happy to even be at the meeting was Aidan Coleman. The jockey had looked as though he might miss the ride on Mon Mome, the second-favourite for the National, following his crashing fall the previous day, but passed the racecourse doctor and described himself as “a little bit sore but fine to ride”.
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