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TOUGH TASK FACING POINTMENT
TALK ABOUT IT IN OUR HORSE RACING FORUMS Paul Nicholls admits Mr Pointment's Becher Chase win could cost him dear come John Smith's Grand National day. The nine-year-old was a length winner of the November event over the National fences but that performance has seen handicapper Phil Smith allot him 11st 8lb for the April 5 race. No horse since triple race winner Red Rum in 1977 has carried that sort of weight to victory and Nicholls believes his charge has plenty on his plate. "Obviously I'd prefer a few pounds lower and he's got plenty of weight," he said. "I suppose we are 4lb lower than Beef Or Salmon so that might be fair enough, but we have slightly shot ourselves in the foot by running in the Becher." Mr Pointment's burden has seen him drift in the betting with Coral and he is now a 14-1 shot, with the Willie Mullins-trained Snowy Morning their new 10-1 market leader. Paddy Power go the same price about Snowy Morning, with Mr Pointment a 12-1 chance. Bewleys Berry finished second behind Mr Pointment in the Becher and has been given 10st 11lb - much to the delight of trainer Howard Johnson. He said: "I'm happy with that, very pleased in fact. "We'll give him one more run and then go to Aintree nice and fresh. He's in at Newbury on Saturday but I could go to the Grimthorpe Chase at Doncaster with him." Red Rum was trained by Aintree legend Ginger McCain to win three Nationals and although the handler has bowed out of the sport, his son Donald continues to send out the winners from their Cheshire base. He has Cloudy Lane (10st 8lb), Idle Talk (10st 6lb) and Bannister Lane (10st) to pick from. "I'd be happy with Cloudy Lane's weight - when all's said and done, getting them in the race is the most important thing and he should make it off that rating," said McCain. "It would be nice if Beef Or Salmon were to turn up as we would have a cracking weight then. "Idle Talk's weight gives him more of a chance than last year. He's not certain to go but if we do decide to run, it seems a sensible rating. "He ran a very nice race at Doncaster the other day, so no complaints." Beef Or Salmon tops the weights for the four-and-a-half-mile marathon on 11st 12lb with Celestial Gold and Turpin Green next best on 11st 10lb. Irish raider Point Barrow has been given 10st 10lb this year after crashing out at the first when sent off the co-favourite in the 2007 renewal. Trainer Pat Hughes said: "I would be happy enough with that, it's about the same as he carried last year. "The plan is to run in the Red Square Vodka Gold Cup Chase later this month and then go straight to the race from there. "Hopefully he can have a bit more luck this year." Another handler satisfied with the outcome of the handicap was Peter Bowen and he is looking forward to letting last year's runner-up McKelvey have another crack at the big fences. The nine-year-old has been sidelined by a leg problem since but having gone up 7lb on last year to 10st 11lb, Bowen is hoping for another bold show. "You would have to be happy with McKelvey's weight as it's not that much more than he carried last year," he said. "He's in really good form and we had the leg checked yesterday and it's fine." Bowen has 11 runners entered but with a record 105 horses in the handicap this year, some of those are unlikely to run. TALK ABOUT IT IN OUR HORSE RACING FORUMS
By Bettingzone.co.uk Used with permission. THE TOP SIX ONLINE BOOKIES FOR THE 2008 GRAND NATIONAL It's our favourite day of the year again this Saturday. Yes - on Saturday 5th April 2008, it's the 2008 Grand National, the biggest and best horse race in the world and once again, we've come up with some cracking deals for you. We've put all of the online bookies through our stringent quality control procedures and we've selected the best six for you. Our quality control includes standard of customer service, speed of settlement, ease of use of website and much more. So whether you are an experienced punter or just like a couple of quid on the National every year, you won't do better than selecting one of the bookies featured below. BETFAIR Betfair Placing a bet at Betfair If you are unsure, you are welcome to call Betfair When you open a new account at Betfair, you receive a free £25 bet shortly after your first bet has been settled, so long as you enter the promo code of BFB425 when prompted. Click Here To Get Going With Betfair And Claim Your Free £25 Bet CORAL Coral It's very easy to place a bet on the Coral When you open a new account with Coral You must enter the bonus code of CORALTD when prompted to qualify for your bonus. Click Here To Enter The Coral Website EXTRABET Extrabet The £25.00 matched bet will not show in your account but you can read all about how it works on the Extrabet site. It's the purple box that says '£25 FREE BET FOR NEW CUSTOMERS' on the top right hand side. Click here to visit the Extrabet site Should you experience any difficulties with the Extrabet Click Here For The Extrabet Site BETFRED The number for PADDY POWER Paddy Power is well known for getting asked to leave Vatican City for taking bets on who the new Pope would be last time around and for paying up on Chelsea winning the Premiership two years ago - in October. The Grand National is a bit more conventional but there's nothing ordinary about Paddy Power's Grand National offer. Bet £10 and get £20 free at Paddy Power. Now that's a great offer! Paddy Power are also paying a 10% bonus on your Grand National winnings. You'll also find when you open an account at Paddy Power that the free bets just keep rolling in throughout the year, for no reason at all... You can contact Paddy Power customer services on 08000 565 275. Click Here To Bet With Paddy Power SKYBET Sky Bet Open an account with Sky Bet Sky Bet Click Here To Go To Sky Bet |
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