A glance at the ante-post market for
the 2015 Crabbies Grand National at Aintree, a race worth total prize
money of £1 million, shows that last year’s hero Pineau de Re and
Shutthefrontdoor, impressive winner of the Irish Grand National at
Fairyhouse, are amongst a number of horses vying for favouritism at
around 26.0 with most
firms in the Grand National betting, writes Elliot Slater.
There’s a long way to go before the
40 runners will face the starter for “the world’s greatest
steeplechase” at Aintree
racecourse in the spring, but already connections of the two
respective Grand National heroes of last year are laying out their
plans for the campaign ahead.
Pineau de Re, trained by Dr Richard
Newland, proved a revelation last term and far exceeded even the
wildest expectations of his new owner, Mr Provan, who purchased the
veteran privately from his previous patrons who had raced the horse
over a number of seasons in Ireland under the guidance of trainer
Philip Fenton. The French-bred gelding had placed in graded hurdles
in his youth but had seemingly plateaued some time ago over fences,
yet the change of scene and the new surroundings of Newland’s
Warwickshire stables brought about a remarkable transformation in the
11-year-old.
After winning a
veterans handicap chase at Exeter in January he switched to hurdles
and very nearly pulled off an amazing win in the Pertemps
Handicap Hurdle Final at the Cheltenham Festival before taking his
chance over the still awesome Aintree fences, being sent off at Grand
National betting odds of 25/1. The rest is history, as Leighton
Aspell’s mount galloped to a superb five-length victory over
Balthazar King, catapulting his handler into the international
sporting spotlight.
Dr Newland is hopeful that despite the
certainty of having to carry more weight in the big race this year
Pineau de Re (26.0) has a sporting chance of getting involved at the
business end of the contest and is likely to campaign him over
hurdles for most of the season, keeping the old horse fresh for
another assault on the £1 million Crabbies-sponsored
showcase event
On the other side of the Irish Sea
another smart staying handicap chaser made a big name for himself
last term and could be one to definitely keep on the right side in
the season ahead with his ambitious owner JP McManus, trainer Jonjo
O’Neill, and jockey Tony McCoy eyeing a crack at the Aintree
marathon on the spring.
Shutthefrontdoor achieved a tremendous
amount in his first season over fences having previously shown
ability over hurdles. There’s no doubt that the gelded son of
Accordion exceeded expectations with the rapid progress he made over
fences, culminating in a famous victory in the Irish Grand National
when getting the better of a tremendous tussle with Golden Wonder to
score by three-quarters-of-a-length under a great ride from Barry
Geraghty.
Tony McCoy had ridden Shutthefrontdoor
on most of his outings over fences - with the exception of his
previous outing at Cheltenham in the Terry Biddlecombe National Hunt
Chase (for amateur riders) - but he was unable to travel to Ireland
for the big race and Geraghty proved a more than able substitute at
Fairyhouse.
At just seven years old the Irish
National winner is likely still improving and hopes are
understandably high that a horse with his stamina and attitude could
well have something to offer at Aintree in the spring when he could
well be amongst the market principals, especially if McCoy, very much
a housewives favourite these days, is back on board.