Aintree Grand National preview:FIFTY YEARS after Sam Maguire crossed the Border for the first time, Ballyholland – the horse named after a Co Down GAA club – can finally bring the Grand National to the North Of Ireland.
Grand National heroes like the 1988 winner Rhyme N’Reason and jockeys Richard Dunwoody and Tony Dobbin have been born in the North but no horse trained there has ever managed to land the world’s most famous steeplechase.
Now, however, one that cost just €2,000 looks to have first-rate credentials to change that in the 2010 €1 million-plus spectacular.
Ballyholland races in the colours of Cathal McGovern, a member of the Ballyholland Harps GAA club, and is trained in the townland of Raffrey, near Crossgar, by 46-year-old Colin McBratney.
Were it not for the fact that the nine-year-old is ridden by Andrew McNamara, who wrung his near six foot frame down to 10st 2lb to win Monday’s Irish National on Bluesea Cracker, Ballyholland might sneak completely under the popular radar for today’s highlight.
But while the Northern team may not have the profile of many of the nine other Irish representatives today, they already know they are capable of cracking the big race code.
Last summer McNamara and Ballyholland ran out impressive winners of the Galway Plate and ever since today’s National has been the target.
Just two runs during the winter yielded a win in a novice hurdle and an encouraging warm-up in a two-mile Grade Two Chase behind Tranquil Sea.
Ballyholland is not especially well handicapped but 11st is a decent racing weight and crucially the warm weather is continuing to dry out the National course. Although successful on soft ground at Galway, Ballyholland’s unproven stamina will be better suited to good going.
“We don’t know if he will stay and we won’t know until the day,” McBratney, a former point-to-point rider, admits. “He has loads of toe which will help him lie up and Andrew will probably ride him like a horse who will stay. He’s a good, brave jumper too.”
Especially on good ground conditions, having proven stamina for four and a half miles is often another way of saying a horse is too slow to win, although that hardly applies to last year’s 100 to 1 winner Mon Mome who returns on the back of a fine third in the Gold Cup.
The 2008 hero Comply Or Die is back again, too, and there are others with plenty of previous experience of this unique sporting challenge.
Ruby Walsh, though, has pointed out how one experience of the Aintree fences can be enough for some horses so it is no major negative against Ballyholland that he – or indeed McBratney – has never been here before.
A plus point is McNamara’s big race nerve that showed up again at Fairyhouse earlier in the week and which puts him in line to emulate Walsh (2005), Tommy Carberry (1975) and Pat Taaffe (1955) by completing the Irish-English National double in the same year.
Walsh has a remarkable National record having won twice from nine attempts, and failing to finish only once.
His decision to pick Big Fella Thanks has helped the horse to ante-post favouritism as British champion trainer Paul Nicholls attempts to win the race for the first time.
However, much of the pre-race focus will be on Tony McCoy’s efforts to break his National hoodoo on board Don’t Push It, one of four runners for JP McManus who has also to win at Aintree.
McManus’s best chance, though, could lie with Arbor Supreme who will have the hugely impressive teenager Paul Townend on board. If he gets around Arbor has a major shout but there may be doubts about his jumping while Willie Mullins’s other hope, Snowy Morning, is weighted to emulate his fine effort two years ago when finishing third.
Character Building has been backed to provide Nina Carberry with a historic success although two runs this season do nothing to suggest the grey can figure at the business end while last year’s Irish National winner, Niche Market, has hardly had a cushy time of it this season with five runs over fences.
In contrast, Black Apalachi has had a perfect prep since exiting so unluckily at Becher’s second time round last year. Along with Vic Venturi he represents a powerful challenge by Curragh trainer Dessie Hughes.
But with 33 to 1 odds generally available about Ballyholland yesterday, the value bet may be a long way from the Curragh and instead reside in Co Down.
BRIAN O’CONNOR’S NATIONAL VERDICT
1Ballyholland
2Black Apalachi
3Tricky Trickster
4Snowy Morning
