Definitly Red catapulted himself into the Grand National reckoning with a 14-lengths success in Doncaster’s Grimthorpe Chase that had the bookmakers cutting his Aintree odds in half. Brian Ellison has been so impressed with his chestnut that he considered putting him in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and he now hopes to see further encouragement when he sends the horse over a National-style practice fence that will be built at Malton for Yorkshire’s Aintree contenders.
“Hopefully now all roads lead to the National,” said the winning jockey, Danny Cook. “He’s a very good horse and the question is whether he can jump round there.”
That looks like a significant question in the case of Definitly Red, who unseated at Haydock last time and was a faller at the last Cheltenham Festival. But Ellison feels excuses can be made for at least one of those calamities.
“At Haydock, things didn’t go to plan,” the trainer said. “Henry [Brooke] asked him for a big one down the back and he took off and landed on the fence, which unsettled him, but he would have finished second had he not unseated that day. He was staying on.
“Danny gets on well with him. He’s won the Rowland Meyrick and now this, which is his best result so far. Providing he schools well over National-style fences, he’ll go to Aintree. I can’t see why he won’t take to them as he is such a good jumper. He’s a lovely horse and has a great temperament. He’s class.”
Ellison might be in line for one or two tense discussions in the buildup to the National on 8 April, as Definitly Red’s owner, Phil Martin, described himself as not a big fan of the race, adding that he would go along with his trainer’s plan for the time being. The case for letting Definitly Red take his chance is not hard to make as the National weights were published last month and he will now have an advantage of at least 10lb. Having been a 33-1 shot, he is no bigger than 20-1 and some firms have him down to 14-1.
Owners who are keen on the National will get a chance to buy into a runner when Just A Par turns up for the sale scheduled to take place at Aintree two days before the famous race. Paul Nicholls’s 10-year-old is part-owned by the estate of the late Graham Roach, which has prompted the sale, and there may be several interested bidders in view of the horse’s staying-on success in a veterans’ race hereon Saturday.
“It was a little bit of a surprise,” Nicholls said, “but he has got lots of ability. He has been jumping off handy, but he’s better jumping off last and then at least it lets him pass horses and get his confidence up.”
Just A Par remains a 50-1 shot for the National, where he was well beaten last year, but he has some form for coming good in the spring, having won Sandown’s Bet365 Gold Cup two years ago and been beaten just a short-head in the same race last year.
Aintree continued to dominate the thoughts of winning connections, since Cheltenham is so close at hand that very few of Saturday’s runners can have it on their agenda. Robin Dickin named Aintree’s Topham Trophy, over the National fences, as the next target for Thomas Crapper after his talented chaser, an infrequent winner, scored for the first time since April.
“He’s such a good horse, how could I be frustrated with him?” he said. “I’m not frustrated with any of my horses. If my horses run bad races, I’m frustrated with myself. It’s me that’s let them down. They never let me down.”
Aintree is also in the thoughts of Barry Geraghty, who still hopes to be fit in time for the meeting after his Kempton fall on Saturday. There was speculation on Friday night that he might, after all, be able to make the Cheltenham Festival but his latest x-rays confirm he has three broken ribs, while his punctured lung will also need some time to repair itself. Geraghty reported himself comfortable and optimistic about making it to Aintree.
CHRIS COOK’S SUNDAY TIPS
HUNTINGDON
2.00 Azzuri 2.30 Fifty Bob (nap) 3.00 Weststreet 3.30 Antarctica De Thaix 4.00 Court Frontier 4.30 Walsingham Grange 5.00 Rosie McQueen (nb) 5.30 Haafapiece
SEDGEFIELD
2.20 Nail’M 2.50 Justforjames 3.20 Swing Hard 3.50 Meribel Mellie 4.20 Bishops Court 4.50 Dark And Dangerous 5.20 Molly The Dolly
