GRAND NATIONAL 2011: Ballabriggs adds to McCain legend as trainer Donald follows his father Ginger into Aintree folklore

Donald McCain delivered a wonderful new chapter in his family's matchless Grand National record on a day of drama and sorrow at Aintree.

Four times in the past McCain's father Ginger had stood proudly in the winner's enclosure after the race he virtually made his own thanks, above all, to the unique exploits of Red Rum.  

On Saturday it was the turn of his son to take centre stage after his 14-1 shot, Ballabriggs, delivered his first National success.

Stepping out of the formidable shadow of his father at Aintree has not been easy for the brilliant trainer and no-one who watched him dash from under the rails to greet his horse out on the course in his moment of triumph can doubt the significance of the achievement.

'I am just a little bit proud of my boy,' said Ginger, now 80, as he made his way towards the press conference. 

'He's done a cracking job with this horse. If I ever meet his father I am going to congratulate him and ask him where his brains came from.'

The old boy was so enmeshed in the folklore of Liverpool that you could understand his reluctance to hand over the baton until 2006.

By then, of course, in the late evening of his career, he had added a remarkable fourth National success with Amberleigh House to the three Red Rum triumphs.

Although Ginger took most of the plaudits that day in 2004, it was widely accepted that his son, his long-time assistant, played a major part in the preparation of Amberleigh House at their stables in the heart of Cheshire.

1 BALLABRIGGS (J M Maguire) 14-1
2 Oscar Time (Mr S Waley-Cohen) 14-1
3 Don't Push It (A P McCoy) 9-1
4 State of Play (Paul Moloney) 28-1

Also: 15-2 Fav The Midnight Club Tote: win ?14.50 places ?3.80 ?3.50 ?3.90 ?7.30 Tote Exacta: ?225.30 CSF: ?181.25 Tricast: ?1934.42

Donald conceded: 'By the time of Amberleigh House I was doing most of the training. We just worked together with what we had. The National has always been in my life and after winning with Amberleigh House I'd convinced myself it wouldn't matter if I didn't win it because I'd already been involved with one.'

These days McCain, now 41, controls by far the most formidable team of jumpers assembled in the north of England, to the point that he is emerging as a major threat to Paul Nicholls' stranglehold on the trainers' championship.

This season he has produced close to a century of winners.

The success of Ballabriggs in the world's most famous race was planned with clinical precision.

To prevent the handicapper ruining his horse's favourable mark over fences, McCain cunningly campaigned him over hurdles.

His patience and foresight were rewarded with a superb victory as the strapping Ballabriggs led throughout the second circuit before bravely seeing off the sustained late challenge of Oscar Time and his dashing amateur rider, Sam Waley-Cohen.

Last year's hero Don't Push It performed with great credit under top weight to claim third place and jockey Tony McCoy said: 'He ran a great race and all credit to the horse. It's very difficult for horses to win back-to-back Nationals.

'He was off the bridle a little bit early and he got low at a couple of fences late on which was energy-sapping.' 

felt his horse was beaten by the weight, saying: 'He ran his heart out, but perhaps he had 10lb too much. We will have to see about next year, he will be 12 then.'

Don't Push It came in ahead of State of Play and Niche Market. Fresh initiatives allowing the field to bypass fences on the second circuit led to the dramatic sight of horses in full flight streaming past two fences.

The decision was made because the bodies of two dead horses lay on the landing side, in the path of the onrushing leaders.

Ornais was killed when he came down at the fourth and Dooneys Gate broke his back at the sixth, Becher's Brook.

Their horrific deaths marred a finish and result that would otherwise go down as one of the best Grand Nationals of modern times.

The pace in the bright sunshine was unrelenting to the point that Ballabriggs was so tired at the conclusion of four-and-a-half miles that his jockey Jason Maguire, immediately jumped from his back and asked course staff to hose down the horse with buckets of water.

McCoy, too, jumped off Don't Push It.

So, for the first time in living memory, only one of the first three in the race, Oscar Time, made his way back to the enclosure reserved for those who have performed with glory.

Winner and third were instead led away to the racecourse stables to cool down.

McCain explained: 'It's hot out there and Ballabriggs wasn't supposed to hit the front until the elbow. He had given his all and wobbled a little bit. He doesn't hold anything back so we took him off to cool him down.'

For Maguire, nephew of Adrian Maguire, the winning ride on Ballabriggs came as compensation for missing out on the success of Silver Birch in 2007 because he rode Idle Talk for McCain.

'That was tough but this more than makes up for it,' he said. 'I can't believe the way Ballabriggs has done it.

'My biggest problem was getting him to relax. For a horse to travel too well in the first half of the race and still get home in front is quite unbelievable, especially when he was considered to be a doubtful stayer.'

There was a sting in the tail for Maguire when he was hit with a five-day ban for excessive use of the whip.

Ballabriggs gave owner Trevor Hemmings his second National win, six years after his colours were carried to victory by Hedgehunter.

Hemmings admitted: 'I had to turn away because I couldn't look. People kept telling me I was going to win but I felt it wasn't really happening. This race is the ultimate.'

Preston upset Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson earlier this season by sacking his son, Darren, as manager. And there was little cheer for Ferguson yesterday when his What A Friend was pulled up in the final mile.

View the original article here

Five ways to pick the Grand National winner - if you're a novice

With Prince William and Kate Middleton's nuptials looming, omens suggest a horse with some connection to the royal wedding might prevail; Party Politics famously did for the bookies in 1992, the year of a General Election. Although Royal Rosa is the most regally monikered horse in the field, Oscar Time is the one the Union Jack-waving Middle Englanders should plump for. It's the mount of Sam Waley-Cohen, the amateur jockey credited with getting William and Kate back together after their 2007 split by mischievously inviting both to a party at his family's mansion, where they got their relationship back on track.

Remarkably, when the jockey-bookings were finalised, there were four sets of siblings down to ride in this year's Grand National. Sadly the withdrawal of Our Monty means that Ruby Walsh's sister, Katie, misses out, leaving Paul and Nina Carberry on Backstage and Character Building, Leighton and Paddy Aspell on In Compliance and Chief Dan George, and Robbie and Andrew McNamara on Majestic Concorde and Bluesea Cracker. And while many wouldn't dream of betting on a female amateur, the excellent Ms Carberry is bound to attract plenty of support as the only woman in the race.

If football is more your bag than racing, you could do worse than put your money on What A Friend, a notoriously stubborn, occasionally temperamental but unquestionably talented steed that shares more than a few personality traits with his owner, Sir Alex Ferguson. Meanwhile JP McManus, the Manchester United manager's former-boss-turned-nemesis (as a result of a row over another racehorse), sends out five runners. The notoriously myopic Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger isn't represented in this year's line-up, but should he decide to have a bet, would almost certainly back BecauseIcouldntsee.

The elevation of the former steeplechaser Desert Orchid to national treasure status proves how much everyone loves a pretty grey horse and betting on one has its advantages – especially when you are trying to spot your fancy during the 40-strong field's death-or-glory cavalry charge towards the first fence. Four greys will come under starter's orders this afternoon: Silver By Nature, Quolibet, Piraya and Character Building. Silver By Nature is the pick of the quartet, but will be hoping for a splash of overnight rain to provide a bit of cut in the ground to help him become the first grey to win the Grand National since Nicolaus Silver in 1961.

If the prospect of picking the winner proves too daunting, you can always opt for one of the vast range of novelty bets offered by most bookmakers: the country of origin of the winning trainer, number of finishers, number of horses to clear the first fence, a father-son trainer-jockey combination to win, any horse to lead at the elbow and lose and even the number of false starts. Fans of Wayne Rooney-inspired profanity may be interested to know that Coral is offering 20-1 against the winning jockey effing and jeffing into a TV camera after the race.

View the original article here

Claims Five: Outsiders with a chance in the Grand National | Chris Cook

There's been a fair bit of Grand National coverage in this slot. Here you can read about what makes it so brilliant, while here is a bit about the surprisingly awful record of grey horses (not recommended reading for those of you who think the colour of a horse's pelt is a subject undeserving of your attention). Last year, I wrote about some of the high-profile horses who have fallen at the first fence and gave some key stats.

Here's a quick update on those stats. Don't Push It had won over fences against 16 rivals before his National success, so 17 of the past 19 National winners have proven ability to cope with big fields (12 rivals or more). Paul Nicholls ran four more horses without success in last year's race, taking his record to a most surprising 0/48.

Don't Push It had also won beyond three miles, like the previous 20 winners, but he was carrying 11st 5lb, the most by any National winner since 1982. The last time a winner had more than that was 1977, when Red Rum carried 11st 8lb to his third success. It remains the case that no seven-year-old has won the National since 1940.

There are a few horses in Saturday's race who may be thought to be up against it, judging by these stats, none more so than Quolibet. A seven-year-old, his only success (as recorded by the Racing Post) was over two miles and six furlongs and came against only eight rivals. He has fallen in three of his past six starts and was pulled up on his only run in Britain. Surely odds of 150-1 are very short indeed for such a runner.

I note that, among the market leaders, What A Friend has never beaten more than 10 rivals over fences while Quinz is a seven-year-old.

But I set no store by the Paul Nicholls stat, which is more of a curiosity than any kind of guide to what may happen in future Nationals. He campaigns his horses openly, which means they are not always well weighted when the big handicaps come along, but he will surely win it one day, especially if he keeps running three or four talented beasts each year.

By this stage, we all have fairly clear ideas about which horses we fancy to win. But it is worth taking the time to go through the final field, challenging your assumptions about each horse and asking yourself how surprising it would be, really, if it were to win.

If you find yourself newly impressed by the claims of a runner you had previously counted out, that may well be significant. You want to consider it now, rather than waiting until they're running down to second Becher's to find yourself thinking: "Actually, that thing has a real chance here ..."

After all, your long-term views about the race are likely to centre on the market leaders, who have had this as their known target for months. There are other runners in the field whose claims have been wholly ignored by the media, horses who are sailing merrily along beneath the radar, preparing to drop a bomb on unsuspecting punters.

There are bound to be races that leave you baffled, wondering how on earth the winner has run so much better than his previous form. I never want to have that feeling after a National and to that end I have kicked around the chances of each outsider to see if, in fact, he should be among the more fancied runners.

Here's the five at odds of 33-1 or bigger that I found most interesting.

I could see why this horse was available at 33-1 last weekend when connections were giving the impression that they might opt out of the race with this classy eight-year-old. Now that they have made their decision and he is a definite runner, I find it very surprising that a horse with such a sexy profile remains at those odds, though he is shortening with some firms.

There is no doubt about his basic speed, as he remains competitive at a high level on the Flat, being beaten just a length when fourth in the Chester Cup last May. Last summer he was third in the Galway Plate over a distance short of three miles on good ground.

Those efforts would make you worry about his stamina for four and a half miles but his latest run went a long way towards convincing me he is a Grand National type, when he won a 28-runner handicap chase over three miles on heavy going at Leopardstown's Christmas meeting. He stayed on well that day, having hit the front at the fourth-last.

Yes, he has 11st 5lb, which is as much as any National winner since 1977, and he's also younger than most winners of the race. But the going will be no worse than good to soft, it seems, meaning that his class should count and he has every chance of staying the trip.

He's had only seven runs over fences, three of which were in the past two years, so there is the potential for that to let him down, but he appears now to be a capable jumper.

So long as the ground isn't watered tonight to the point where it becomes taxing, I see this 100-1 shot having some sort of chance. The winner of five of his 17 chases (and six of his 10 starts for Nigel Twiston-Davies), he is by no means a plodder and beat 15 rivals in Market Rasen's Summer Plate last July. He won again at Ffos Las in August and is only 5lb higher in the handicap than he was that day, on a nice racing weight of 10st 7lb.

There have been hiccups, including on his recent return to Ffos Las, when he was pulled up. But that was his first start for five months and the yard were out of sorts at the time but have since returned to something like the form they were showing in the autumn.

He also managed to fall at the first in the Galway Plate and I know that even some of those close to the yard have doubts about his ability to jump round the National course. They do not, however, include the trainer, who told me the other day that the horse is a good jumper.

Well, we'll see. He would, of course, have to put it all together in order to be competitive on Saturday but that is not beyond this talented handicapper who goes well on a decent surface. He is far from the most likely winner but he should not be counted out.

A bit like Silver Birch, this could be a winner to which people will respond by going: "Ohhhh. He used to be really good, didn't he?"

In Compliance is actually a Grade One winner, having won the John Durkan at the end of 2006, when he was six. Alas, injury problems restricted him to two runs, both defeats, in the next three years.

He was finally moved into handicaps last spring, running sixth in both the Byrne Group Plate at the Cheltenham Festival and in the Topham over the National fences. Both those efforts may be seen as encouraging in the context of this race if you believe that what he wanted was further than three miles.

After a gap of seven months, he returned in January and has put up four good efforts this year, all over two and a half miles or shorter. He actually managed to win at Thurles, when the going was heavy and he was wearing blinkers for the first time.

Dessie Hughes has left those off this time because, as he told me: "He'll need to see." He'll wear cheekpieces, which he has worn twice before, unseating once and then finishing third over a short trip on fast ground.

He's had such a low strike-rate in recent years that any kind of poor run would be no surprise at all. But he seems to retain enough of his ability to get involved if he turns up in good nick and takes to the race. He's 66-1 but is also joint-fourth in Timeform's ratings for the race.

Speaking of low strike-rates, Comply Or Die has not won since the 2008 Grand National, when he beat King Johns Castle by four lengths. This is not completely surprising. He went flying up the ratings for that effort and he would hardly be the first horse to be uninspired by normal courses after running well around Aintree.

He was second to Mon Mome in the 2009 race under 11st 6lb, an excellent effort, but was stuffed in 12th place last year with one pound less to carry. That sort of decline would not normally be followed by a return to form.

But he has only 10st 8lb to carry this time, a manageable burden for the first time since he won the race. His form this season is hardly exciting but he showed enough at Warwick in January, when he led to the third-last, to suggest that he can still get involved when things fall right for him.

It's hard to see him winning again but he's 50-1 and that seems too big for a horse who has shown himself so suited to this test. It is not beyond him to get placed again.

You rarely get offered 80-1 about a horse who has won three of his past four races. The explanation is that Surface To Air has spent almost three years on the sidelines with injury since those wins, the most recent of which came in Uttoxeter's Summer National in June 2008.

He finally made his comeback in a hurdle race at Market Rasen last month, when he finished tailed off. It was a disappointing effort, even for a prep run.

But if Chris Bealby has managed to get him to peak fitness, this 10-year-old has the ability to get involved off a rating only 8lb higher than the one from which he achieved his latest win. Backing him requires a total leap of faith on the issues of his fitness and how much ability he retains but my feeling is that 80-1 overstates the problems facing him.

View the original article here

Talking Horses: The latest news on the Grand National, plus win a £100 bet on the big race in our daily horse racing blog

It may not have been the brightest idea for someone in racing's corridor's of power to send out an April Fool's press release last week, claiming that the Grand National would have to be run clockwise round the famous Aintree circuit from now on, to comply with European regulations. "Ho, ho, what a good one," any reader was doubtless supposed to chortle, but the problem comes when they read elsewhere in the same week that the starting stalls at right-handed tracks will be renumbered so that number one is always on the inside, even at Windsor, where the question of what is inside and what outside is tricky to pin down.

"Stop it, you're killing me," may have been the response, but, as we know, the second of these initiatives is by no means an April Fool and it is as well to bear this in mind if you're betting at Beverley today. By tradition, you want a horse in a double-figure box for the big-field sprint handicaps there, but now of course it is Trap One that we want.

Or rather, not One because that's where Solemn is and I can't quite see him doing it today, even with Silvestre de Sousa aboard. In Trap Three, however, is Humidor (3.10) at a very backable 7-1 to follow up the good work of last year.

Formerly with Roger Charlton, he won his first three starts for George Baker from August to October and is still only 5lb higher than for the most recent of those successes, from 15 rivals at Ascot. He warmed up for this by trying to make all round Lingfield's all-weather circuit and should be sharp this time.

Richard Guest got Hill Tribe (3.40) from Jeremy Gask and managed to improve the filly sufficiently to win at Southwell and Wolverhampton since the turn of the year. She showed some ability on the turf last year and my bet is that she can beat this small field, now that the trainer has brought her on. It is almost a month since we saw her but the yard continues in good form. She's 7-2.

At Nottingham, it appears that somebody left the irrigation machine out in the snow because, when they tried to use it on Monday, it worked down the back straight and then broke. In consequence, the going is good to firm, firm in places, with the latter patches presumably concentrated in the home stretch.

That's good news for Buzz Law (5.20), who goes well on a decent surface, as when running on into a close third at York last year. He won at Newmarket on good but was beaten at Ascot and Newmarket when 'soft' was in the going description. He's still handicapped to win and it can be today if Elaine Burke, who had a winner at Doncaster on Saturday, has him ready.

Ole! ElMatador1 stuck his pin in both Strictly Pink (9-1) and Ingleby Spirit (9-1), sweeping himself to the top of the leaderboard. Is it wierd that the other winner, Drybrook Bedouin, was also 9-1?

Goofs, you were severely punished for ditching Cathy for Heathcliff. I mean Kieren.

Apologies to those of you who were unable to post selections during the period yesterday when comments were closed due to a technical glitch.

Today, we'd like your tips, please, for these races: 3.10 Beverley, 4.50 Nottingham, 5.40 Kempton.

This week's prize is a £100 bet on the Grand National this Saturday, kindly provided by Totesport, the official betting partner of the National meeting at Aintree.

As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers. If you have not joined in already this week, you are welcome to do so today, but you will start on -6.

In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be that entrant who, from those tied for the highest score, posted his tips earliest on the competition's final day.

For terms and conditions click here. Good luck!

ElMatador1 +21

waitesy77 +16

millario +11

TheVic +11

MillieJ +11

socialwanderer +11

savoieblue +11

Sportingchad +9

xwireman +9

fatdeano +9

Fixxxer +6

SepticPeg +6

sandiuk +6

towerpower +4

zizkov123 +4

twig28 +4

factormax +4

carl31 +4

Lameduck +4

MauriceNL +4

tiznow +4

Mai11 +4

MrWinnersSonInLaw +4

mike65ie +4

lonewolfmcquaid +4

MLJ78 +4

shears39 +1

Brochdoll +1

Degs74 +1

peterpickum +1

ToffeeDan1 +1

slackdad38 +1

johnny909 -1

millreef -1

goofs -1

melonk -1

Rivercity -1

mcyoung -1

snowy81 -1

Dangalf -6

emmapathak -6

scandalous -6

Ellandback -6

ermuff -6

Moscow08 -6

Copshaw -6

waltersobchak -6

bucks1 -6

zzz62zzz -6

curlycov -6

sangfroid -6

tom1977 -6

diegoisgod -6

moidadembums -6

William36 -6

donkeylonks -6

JahLion -6

stee33 -6

TheSquire86 -6

SussexRH -6

15244 -6

JDK1 -6

spiller -6

BearRides -6

biganders -6

Mulldog -6

TL127 -6

Rollneck -6

Harrytheactor -6

suckzinclee -6

robmct -6

rfiactb -6

Ormrod76 -6

23skidoo -6

Shrewdette -6

Akcptgrey -6

DrSativa -6

Beeftodd -6

jackrussell28 -6

Slicker66 -6

chris1623 -6

sizingeurope -6

orso -6

chanleyman -6

cerises -6

grantyno1 -6

stevec1977 -6

chiefhk -6

halfienoakes -6

Onmeheadson -6

Click here for all the day's racecards, form, stats and results.

Click here for today's latest odds.

And post your tips or racing-related comments below.

View the original article here

Paul Nicholls spruces up his chances of a first Grand National success

Paul Nicholls revealed on Thursday that he has built a couple of Aintree-style spruce-covered fences at his Somerset yard as part of his preparations for the Grand National a week on Saturday.

The champion trainer has had many runners in the famous race without success and hopes for better from this year's team of four, headed by the well-fancied What A Friend.

"That I haven't won the Grand National in 60-odd attempts is sure to get plenty of air time this week but it certainly doesn't cause me any sleepless nights," Nicholls said through his column on Betfair. "That said, I am leaving no stone unturned in my bid for victory."

It has been common for trainers of National contenders to create something that looks like an Aintree fence for the sake of practice on their home gallops but Nicholls reported he had done this only once before.

"We borrowed a lot of spruce from the local point-to-point to cover two existing fences here and they have made a nice test for the horses."

Nicholls said that Niche Market, Ornais and The Tother One had schooled well and added that Mon Parrain, who may be aimed at next week's Topham Trophy, had been "awesome".

What A Friend, cut to 10-1 from 12-1 by William Hill, will be tried over the fences on Friday.

Ryan Moore continued his fine start to the Flat season by riding a short-priced double at Leicester on Retainer and Sand Owl.

The jockey, who has been champion three times but lost his title last year after a mid-season wrist injury, also had a double at Lingfield on Wednesday and will ride next at Doncaster's Lincoln meeting on Saturday.

View the original article here