National favourite could run before Aintree

Punters pinning their hopes on the favourite for the John Smith’s Grand National received a boost yesterday as trainer Jonjo O’Neill said that he would be doing everything in his power to see that Clan Royal makes the starting line-up on April 9.

Since finishing second in the race last year, Clan Royal has been the subject of steady support for the £700,000 (€1m) race, early offers of 33-1 and 25-1 soon being snapped up to leave him now trading at around the 12-1 mark.

But like all of O’Neill’s team, the 10-year-old has been on the sidelines since Christmas as the state-of-the-art Jackdaws Castle complex battles a mystery sickness which has already wiped out nearly two months of the season.

Despite the continuing absence of O’Neill’s squad from the racecourse, the trainer still hopes that he may even be able to get a prep-race into his charge.

“The plan is to be there and hopefully we will get a run into him before then,” he said. “That’s what I’d really like to do but we’ll just have to wait and see. If we can get him back there in the right form then he’s shown that he can run a big race but that is the big ask. He’ll be fresh enough but the question is whether he’ll be fit enough.

“We’re still none the wiser as to what the problem is. It’s been a right pain in the neck, you might say. But I’m lucky to have supportive owners who have told me to take time and get it right and that’s what we’re doing.

“The signs are that things might be improving but we’ll just keep waiting and please God they’ll come right again before long. They’re getting there slowly. They’re cantering away and we’ll have to start soon. It’s been frustrating but you can’t cut corners with these things.”

O’Neill was speaking at the official announcement of the weights for the National, at which Clan Royal was allotted 10st 8lb with the Howard Johnson-trained Pillar Chase winner top-weight on 11st 12lb.

O’Neill also seemed sweet on the chances of another one of his team, the talented chaser Keen Leader, who has 11st 9lb but is arguably well-in with many of the lower-weighted horses thanks to handicapper Phil Smith’s famous use of the ‘concertina’ effect for the top 15 horses.

“I’d love to ride Keen Leader around there,” O’Neill said. “If he’s back to his old best then he’d make them go a bit. He’s a very good horse.

“It’s a big ask but I wouldn’t be turning down the ride if I was offered it. We’ll just have to see how he is. The weight wouldn’t bother him because he’s a big old horse.”

Thanks to Smith’s work, a record number of 92 horses are in the handicap-proper this year, all but guaranteeing that no horse in the final field of 40 will be racing from out of the weights.