Sir set to miss National

TRAINER Robert Alner yesterday revealed that Sir Rembrandt, second and third respectively in the 2004 and 2005 totesport Cheltenham Gold Cups, will miss the John Smith’s Grand National but his participation in the £150,000 Betfair Bowl, run on Thursday, April 7, is still under consideration.

The Dorset-based handler said: “The horse is not definitely coming to Aintree at this stage but I would think it’s a certainty that we won’t be running in the John Smith’s Grand National, so I can categorically rule that out. Funnily enough, we dropped 4lb for our Gold Cup run, which seems quite exceptional, and so he’s hardly ‘well-in’ for the National.

“Regarding the Betfair Bowl, we will be taking a view over the weekend. We like to make plans, but having said that he really would like the ground to be pretty soft. He might well be entered for the Betfair Bowl and we will see whose about, what the likely number of runners is and what the ground is. Everything is open at the moment.”

The Grade Two Betfair Bowl, formerly called the Martell Cup, is run over three miles and one furlong of the Mildmay Course and was founded in 1984. The winners include many of the best chasers over the years, such as Wayward Lad, Desert Orchid, Barton Bank, See More Business, Florida Pearl and First Gold.