Dartnall’s Giles Cross gaining popularity for John Smith's Grand National
Due to the changing conditions of the track at Aintree, the bookmakers are paying close attention to runners, who can compete on a slower surface for John Smith's Grand National, which is scheduled to take place on 14th April,
2012.
The surface of the track was first described as soft, but is currently being labelled good to soft.
Giles Cross, trained by Victor Dartnall for owner, K.C.M.S Partnership, is one of those runners who is under the microscope.
The son of Saddlers’ Hall, out of mare Mystockings, triumphed in the Grade 3 Betfred Grand National Trial (Handicap Chase) at Haydock on 18th February, 2012.
Mounted by Denis O'Regan, he secured a narrow victory over, Neptune Collonges, by a margin of a neck.
William Hill has given him odds of 11-1 for this race. He will be paired with Paddy Brennan for the first time and recently performed some work-outs with him.
Dartnall is immensely pleased with the performance of the ten-year-old gelding as he stated to the press that:
"The horse is in great form, and we were delighted with him this morning. We've rigged up a couple of National lookalike fences and he jumped them beautifully. Paddy was very pleased with what he felt and we're all looking forward to Saturday."
He commented on the surface of the track and said: "The softer the better for him. He's a heavy ground horse, which is one reason why he's run only 16 times in his life; he doesn't get his conditions that often. If he gets his ground, he'll run well.
He travels, he jumps, he stays, he's straightforward and very genuine."
Hello Bud, son of Jurado, out of mare, Orchestral Sport, is also in the running for the Grand National on Saturday.
Owned by Seamus Murphy, he is currently under the training of Nigel Twiston-Davies. The fourteen-year-old gelding will be competing against tough runners, but he has the benefit of experience on his side.
He last scored in the Totesport.com Becher Handicap Chase (Listed Race) at Aintree on 21st November, 2011. He claimed the victory as he defeated Royal Rosa by 1 ¼ length.
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