Everyone's out for a bit of $$$$ no-matter where it comes from, keep complaining=get some compoOriginally Posted by Shapers
Everyone's out for a bit of $$$$ no-matter where it comes from, keep complaining=get some compo
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4/4/2006
84 remain in John Smith's Grand National
A total of 84 horses go forward for the John Smith's Grand National after today's five-day confirmation stage, including 15 from Ireland and four from France.
Hedgehunter is bidding to become the first horse to record back-to-back victories in the John Smith's Grand National since Red Rum secured the second of his three wins in 1974.
The Willie Mullins-trained 10-year-old was mightily impressive when scoring by 14 lengths last year and comes into the £700,000 race on the back of a fantastic effort in last month's totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, when beating all bar War Of Attrition.
A maximum of 40 runners can go to post at 4.15pm on Saturday for the 159th running of the Grand National at Aintree, which means that over half of those left in will not be able to take part.
The 40th horse currently in the list is Colnel Rayburn, one of four horses on 10st 6lb. The others are Risk Accessor, Direct Access and Iris Royal and it will not be known until tomorrow morning in which order they will be treated for elimination purposes. They will then be ranked from 38th to 41st in the list on their latest handicap ratings - the John Smith's Grand National weights were decided back in February.
The 2005 second, Royal Auclair will bid to go one better this time. He is 9lb better off with Hedgehunter from a year ago and will attempt to give champion jump trainer-elect Paul Nicholls his first victory in the world famous event.
Ginger McCain, whose four triumphs in the race equals the record set by Fred Rimell, is set to have three runners this year - his final as a trainer. They are headed by 2004 hero Amberleigh House, with Peter Marsh Chase victor Ebony Light and the recently-purchased Inca Trail completing his trio.
Clan Royal, unluckily carried out when in the lead at Becher's second time around last year having been second in 2004, will represent the powerful J P McManus/Jonjo O'Neill/Tony McCoy combination.
J P McManus has nine others still in the chase, which is run over 30 fences and four and a half miles, and Ground Ball, Innox, First Gold and Risk Accessor in the top 40, with Spot Thedifference and Knife Edge also having some chance of running.
Robert Alner relies on Sir Rembrandt, a staying-on seventh in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, and Nigel Twiston-Davies, successful with Bindaree in2002 and Earth Summit in 1998, is likely to be represented by Ollie Magern and Baron Windrush.
The Irish have a great recent record in the John Smith's Grand National, with Hedgehunter's romp last April providing their fourth victory in seven years, and they have a strong hand again, with 15 horses left in.
The confirmations also include Sue Smith's Ross Comm, an easy winner at Bangor last time, Ferdy Murphy's pair Joes Edge, last year's Scottish Grand National winner, and Haut De Gamme, and Nicky Richards' Direct Access, who fell at the first on his only previous attempt over the Grand National fences in the totesport Becher Chase in 2005.
Nicky Henderson's Juveigneur, owned like Hedgehunter by Trevor Hemmings, Tom George's Lord Of Illusion, and Forest Gunner, ridden into fifth last year by Carrie Ford and the mount this time of Nina Carberry, are other
fascinating contenders for this year's Aintree showpiece.
Source: Liverpool Culture Company
April 05, 2006
Aintree sets standard in welfare of runners
The wrath of hell descends when horses die at Aintree, reckons Alan Lee, Racing Correspondent
FRONT of house, the wow factor at Aintree will be easy to identify this week — a new parade ring and winner’s enclosure, with terracing for 4,000 spectators, replaces the bewitching but primitive old weighing-room block, now preserved for posterity as a stylish bar.
But backstage, out of sight and mind for most of the 160,000 people flocking through the gates from tomorrow until Saturday, further changes are just as profound and beneficial for this most scrutinised of national events. Horses are being looked after better than ever.
The Grand National meeting has survived destitution and embarrassment, bomb threats and false starts, always emerging with the affection of the country. But its organisers know that the wrath of hell descends upon them when horses die at Aintree.
They may not perish on the National course itself — deaths can also occur on the Mildmay and hurdles tracks — but truth and logic are sacrificed when fatalities and Aintree are mentioned in the same breath. Animal rights campaigners seize their moment and suddenly the greatest of jumps races is portrayed as an arena for cruelty and barbarism.
This year, apprehension will be enhanced by the memory of nine horses dying at the Cheltenham Festival last month, including six on a third day when the law of averages played a bitter hand. Cheltenham had gone through its season — eight previous racedays — without a single fatality but this setback posed uncomfortable questions and demanded unpopular measures.
Aintree being the spectacle it is, horse welfare is under a fierce spotlight this week but those who mutter about horses being forced to jump purely for the gratification of others should know two things. No horse will jump a fence, let alone a National fence, unless it enjoys it. And horses injured at Liverpool are now treated by a slick and modern system.
For eight years, the racecourse has liaised closely with the veterinary team at Leahurst Equine Hospital, a part of Liverpool University based on the Wirral. Vets from Leahurst spend the week on site and injured horses were examined and then, if surgery was needed, transported the 15 miles to the hospital. Many have been repaired and restored to full fitness by this method.
Now, as part of the £30 million redevelopment that will be completed next year by two new stands, a state-of-the-art veterinary amenity has been built. Welcoming it yesterday, Chris Proudman, the professor of soft tissue surgery who heads the Leahurst team, was in no doubt it will facilitate faster and more efficacious treatment.
“What we had before was something of a compromise,” Professor Proudman said. “We were using stables as first-aid facilities. The new facility has been designed with veterinary input and has a padded floor, so that a distressed animal can’t hurt itself further by going down, and good lighting essential for stitching wounds.
“There is a TV and video recorder, because seeing how horses fell can offer us important clues to their injuries, and we have a digital X-ray unit and a computer point, enabling us to send the images directly to experts around the world.”
Proudman envisages that most injuries will now be treated on site, with only the worst cases being taken by horse ambulance back to Leahurst — a route followed, with conspicuous success, in recent years by National runners such as Youlneverwalkalone and Lord Atterbury.
Youlneverwalkalone, pulled up in the 2003 National, had ten screws inserted in a broken bone but recovered to enjoy a happy retirement. Last year, Lord Atterbury suffered “a nasty leg injury and was hospitalised at Leahurst for several weeks”. The repair job was so successful that he remains engaged in this year’s race.
“Assumptions were made by the public that horses badly injured would be destroyed,” Proudman said. “Those days are gone. People don’t realise the effort that goes into preparing for this meeting. Myself and John Burgess, another racecourse vet, have been at Aintree already, checking the new layout and the access areas for injured horses. We rehearse for every situation.
“We are always under scrutiny but I think people have been sensitised by events at Cheltenham this year, so the attention may be even greater. Aintree is a challenge but the new facilities will be an enormous help.”
Source: The Times
Grand National on course to back a £17.5m bonanza
Apr 5 2006
By Graham Davies Daily Post Staff
THIS week's Grand National will bring more than £17.5m to Merseyside, figures revealed last night.
The region's 300-plus hotels, providing more than 13,000 beds, are full as Aintree prepares to welcome around 150,000 visitors to the three-day meeting starting on Thursday.
In Liverpool alone, more than 6,600 rooms have been booked for months, making the weekend one of the busiest in the year.
And with Irish interest in horse racing at an all-time high, more than 12,000 visitors are expected to fly in to Liverpool John Lennon Airport via routes from Ireland.
Bars, cafes and restaurants in the city centre, Southport and Wirral, are also preparing to host an influx of customers.
More...
Hedging your bets for the big race
Apr 5 2006
Tony Barrett examines the weird and wonderful ways you can pick a winner.
Liverpool Echo
AS every punter knows, the winner of the Aintree Grand National is harder to pick than a fight with the Dalai Lama.
The only thing anyone can be certain of when the horses line up before the world's greatest steeplechase is that a little over ten minutes later one of them will cross the finishing line first and within seconds you will have heard someone utter the immortal line, "I liked the look of that one and I was going to back it but..."
For racing experts and once-a-year each way backers alike the Grand National is the most unpredictable of occasions, a race in which anything can and usually does happen.
So how do you go about picking the winner? Here are a few ideas.
More...
I have a problem with the GN, in the sense that horse's have to be FORCED to jump hurdles not taught.
I get caught up in the moment out of tradition...
But today my conscience is getting the better of me, a dilemma eh?
I think you'll have just made a friend with Vegan.
Hey I'm a veggie too, but not strictly vegan , catholics and fishy fridays and all that lark
See thread The not so"GRAND"NATIONAL.
Cheers H'
The Course
THE FENCES
1 & 17 - Thron Fence: 4ft 7in high, 2ft 9in wide - claims many victims first time around who are simply travelling too fast.
2 & 18 - Almost the same height as the first but much wider at 3ft 6in.
3 & 19 - Westhead: A 6ft ditch on the approach to a 5ft high and 3in wide fence.
4 & 20 Plain fence, 4ft 10in high and 3ft wide.
5 & 21 - Spruce dressed, 5ft high and 3ft 6in wide.
6 & 22 - Becher's Brook - Although the fence looks inocuous from the take-off side, the steep drop on landing side together with a left-hand turn on landing combine to make this the most thrilling and famous fence in the world of steeple racing.
7 & 23 - Foinavon - Basically an 'ordianry' fence 4ft 6in high and 3ft wide.
8 & 24 - Canal Turn: Made of hawthorn stakes covered in Norway spruce.
9 & 25 - Valentine's Brook: The third of four famous fences to be jumped in succession, it is 5ft highh and 3ft 3in wide with a brook on the landing side about 5ft 6in wide.
10 & 26 - Thorn fence, 5ft high and 3ft wide.
11 & 27 - Booth - The main problem with fence, which is 5ft high and 3ft wide, is in the 6ft wide ditch on the take-off.
12 & 28 - Same size as the two previous fences, but with a ditch on the landing side which can catch runners out.
13 & 29 - Second-last on the final circuit, 4ft 7in high and 3ft wide.
14 & 30 - Almost the same height as the previous fence and rare for any horse to fall at the final fence in the 'National'.
15 - The Chair - At 5ft 2in (1.57m), both the tallest and the broadest fence on the course. With a 6ft (1.82m) wide ditch on the take-off side, The Chair requires a perfectly-timed leap from horse to rider.
16 - The Water Jump - The 2ft 9in Water Jump brings the first circuit to an end and the sight of the runners leaping at speed presents a terrific spectacle.
Source: icLiverpool
Celebrity jockey silks at auction
Jockey silks designed by celebrities including Andrew Flintoff and Gordon Ramsay will be auctioned online to raise money for a children's hospital.
The money will be donated to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool - the Grand National's official charity - as preparations for the race begin.
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Liverpool is the most successful sporting city in the UK
According to Steven Parry:
Liverpool's Commonwealth Games athletes will be guests of honour at the city's sports awards ceremony on Thursday.
The 13 athletes, who came through the city's Sports Development Programme, between them won seven medals in Melbourne last month.
The awards, which celebrate the city's sporting talent, are being presented by former Commonwealth and Olympic swimming medallist, Stephen Parry.
Previous winners include Parry, Wayne Rooney and gymnast Beth Tweddle.
'Shop window'
The Sporting Honours Awards began in 1994 as a way of recognising the achievements of the young sportsmen and women who represent Liverpool.
More than 80 individual and team awards will be presented on Thursday night.
Stephen Parry said: "Liverpool is the most successful sporting city in the UK, and it's essential that we celebrate the fantastic achievements of our young sportsmen and women. "The Annual Sports Awards provide a shop window for excellence, and really emphasise how well the city is performing both nationally and internationally."
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Racing world's eyes focused on Aintree
Apr 6 2006
GRAHAM DAVIES visits the most famous race meeting on the planet
By Graham Davies, Daily Post
MONTHS of planning finally came to fruition today as Aintree's three-day Grand National festival gets under way in front of what are expected to be record crowds.
More...
Race security takes to the skies
The camera will be fitted to a
Merseyside Police helicopter
Race-goers at the Grand National will be protected from criminals by new technology which can identify someone from the sky.
The Spotterscope, a high zoom camera, is fitted to a Merseyside police helicopter and will be at the races in Aintree for the first time.
The system is so accurate it can identify a person's face while hovering more than 800ft above them.
More...
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