RACING:OSCAR TIME will be bidding to give owner Robert Waley-Cohen and his jockey son Sam a big-race double following the Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph of Long Run earlier this month when he lines up in the John Smith's Grand National tomorrow week.

Trained in Co Westmeath by Martin Lynch, the 10-year-old was last seen finishing third behind Grand National ante-post favourite The Midnight Club in Fairyhouse’s Bobbyjo Chase.

“The Grand National has been the only aim this season and he’s 100 per cent after his last run,” said Lynch. “I was very pleased with that, it was his first start over fences since the Irish National last year, so we were delighted with it.

“You don’t know until you run them over four and a half miles but he seemed to get the three-mile, five in the Irish National very well. He has early pace too and I would hope that he would get the trip, but you just don’t know.

“Any ground will do, that doesn’t bother him.”

Lynch has enjoyed a long association with the family, stretching back to his days as a jockey in the late 1980s, and he is looking forward to giving the younger Waley-Cohen the leg up at Aintree. Lynch revealed yesterday: “I rode for Robert and I knew Sam as a child. I was based in England through the late 1980s and early ’90s and I rode for Robert then. I used to school horses for him at his home.

“We have kept up the connection and I know they are passionate to win the Aintree National, so I thought I had the right horse for it.”

Robert purchased Oscar Time, along with Martin Broughton and his brother Steve, after the gelding ran second to Bluesea Cracker in the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse for Lynch a year ago.

This season, the 10-year-old has raced three times, with Sam in the saddle each time.

Lynch, a Cheltenham Festival winner aboard Elfast in the 1992 Mildmay Of Flete Chase, began training after hanging up his riding boots and is relishing the challenge of preparing a John Smith’s Grand National contender after returning from a self-imposed sabbatical. He rode twice in the Grand National, doing best when 10th on Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Cool Ground in 1992.

He said: “I trained for a while after I gave up race-riding in 1993 and after taking a few years out I’ve been back training for six years. A combination of a lot of things including young children and a lot of work brought about the decision to take a break.

“It’s fantastic to have a horse going to Aintree and I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Tony Martin, meanwhile, expects decent spring ground at Aintree to bring out the best in Northern Alliance when he lines up in the big chase. The 10-year-old won the Kerry National at Listowel a couple of years ago and although winless since, he has been running well in defeat of late in conditions softer than ideal.

“All going well Northern Alliance will be there and as long as the ground doesn’t go to soft, he’ll take his chance,” Martin told At The Races.

“He’s in good form and we probably shouldn’t have run him on his last couple of runs. He’s finished second and third but the ground in Ireland has been too heavy for him. We’ve given him a break and he seems fresh and well. He just wants proper decent ground.”

Donald McCain is similarly delighted with his National hope Ballabriggs, a winner of two novice hurdles this season before finishing second in a chase at Kelso.

“He worked on Wednesday and we were thrilled with him. He’s in great shape,” said the trainer.

“He needs another two pieces of work, which he’ll have, and that should leave him spot-on.”