Saturday, April 9, 2011
Amateur rider seeks Grand National racing history
Amateur rider seeks Grand National racing history
Sat Apr 9
LIVERPOOL, United Kingdom (AFP) – Amateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen, winner of the Gold Cup on Long Run, is out to spike the guns of his professional weighing room colleagues again and create history in Saturday's Grand National.
Waley-Cohen, who in his day job runs a dental practice, teams up over the famous Aintree fences for what would be an unprecedented double on Oscar Time, runner-up in last year's Irish National.
The 28-year-old, who also landed January's King George VI Chase on Long Run, is seeking to become the first amateur to win the Gold Cup and Grand National in the same season.
Waley-Cohen, who will as a non-professional forfeit any prize money he picks up in the near £1 million showpiece, said: "Although this season has been so good, it is still a boyhood dream come true to line up in the National on one of the leading contenders."
Oscar Time is part of a dozen-strong Irish raiding party headed by ante-post favourite The Midnight Club, whose rider, Ruby Walsh, will become the first jockey since the Second World War to win three Nationals should he succeed.
And his 2011 conveyance has been prepared with only Saturday in mind, having run only twice in the past year, runner-up in the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park in January before displaying his wellbeing when going one better at Fairyhouse the following month.
Walsh's previous winners came on his father Ted's Papillon in 2000, and Hedgehunter, trained by The Midnight Club's handler Willie Mullins, in 2005.
Walsh's sister Katie was robbed of her first National appearance after her intended runner Our Monty was ruled out with a leg infection.
Another Irish trainer, flat supremo Dermot Weld, returns to the National fray for the first time in 16 years with 33-1 shot Majestic Concorde, who finished fourth on the level at Chester on his last visit to Britain.
Weld, who has two Melbourne Cups to his name, went close in the National with Greasepaint, twice runner up in 1983-84 and third in 1985.
Topweight over the gruelling four and a half mile marathon is shouldered by Don't Push It, successful last year for Tony McCoy, the multiple champion jockey for whom despite having ridden almost 3,000 winners this was a first victory in the world's most famous steeplechase at his 15th attempt.
It was also a first win for trainer Jonjo O'Neill, who had begun to think he was going to miss out on National glory.
"Sometimes you have to accept a thing is not going to happen," O'Neill told The Times on Thursday.
"You can't win everything, do everything. You can't be God."
O'Neill revealed how before last year's race he had rung owner JP McManus's racing manager, Frank Berry, to tell him it was a waste of time sending Don't Push It to Aintree, such was his disappointment at his horse's preparations.
"Luckily he (Berry) said we'd paid the money so we might as well go!"
Of the chances of a repeat O'Neill said: "I'm happier with him this year. The preparation has been brilliant, which probably means he'll fall at the first...."
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would relish a win in Liverpool and the Scot's hopes are carried by What A Friend, Paul Nicholls' charge last seen out when fourth in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
Jockey Daryl Jacob is laidback over the identity of his big race mount's owner, saying: "I don't really think about who owns the horses before I ride them.
"It doesn't matter if it's Sir Alex Ferguson, the Queen or someone from Dorset - I want to do the best I can on them all."
A maximum field of 40 go to post for the 2011 edition.
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