Goonyella bidding to follow in Notre Pere’s footsteps

Goonyella will bid to give trainer Jim Dreaper a second victory in the Coral Welsh National when he lines up for the feature race this afternoon at Chepsow.

Hoping the six-year-old can follow in the footsteps of Notre Pere, who won the race in 2008, Dreaper faced a logistical nightmare after the Christmas Eve ferry on which he was originally booked was cancelled due to rough seas.

He was instead forced to travel from Belfast on St Stephen’s Day.