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LONGSDON EYES £975,000 CONTEST FOR FRISCO DEPOT
The countdown to this
year's John Smith's Grand National continues on Tuesday, February 12, when the
annual launch is held in London and includes the eagerly-anticipated unveiling
of the weights for the world's greatest chase.
A total of 83 entries
remain in the famous handicap chase and, with a prize fund of £975,000, the
John Smith's Grand National is the most valuable jump race in Europe and among
the richest in the world. This year's John Smith's Grand National takes place
on Saturday, April 6, the third and final day of the John Smith's Grand
National meeting at Aintree.
Trainer Charlie Longsdon,
based near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, is aiming exciting Irish import Frisco
Depot at the Aintree showpiece, which will be run over the new distance of
about four miles, three and a half furlongs for the first time.
The lightly-raced
nine-year-old progressed into a smart performer for trainer Dessie Hughes last
season, chasing home Flemenstar at Naas in March before annexing the Grade Two
Hugh McMahon Memorial Novice Chase over three miles at Limerick on April 1.
Frisco Depot was purchased
by Robert Waley-Cohen over the summer but luck has not been on his side in two
runs for his new stable with the owner's son Sam Waley-Cohen in the saddle.
He fell three out when
travelling well in the Grade Three United House Gold Cup at Ascot on November 3
and, after being pulled-up in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on December 1,
it transpired he had a wind problem.
Longsdon revealed:
"Frisco Depot had a wind operation after his run in the Hennessy but he is
back on the go now and everything has been very good with him.
"We are looking at
the John Smith's Grand National and he is going to run in a couple of weeks in
a race that probably wouldn't suit him over two and a half miles at Warwick.
"As he has had a
couple of months off after a wind operation, I want to get a run into him but
there are not too many races for him.
"He looked very
progressive prior to his run in the Hennessy and he is a very nice horse. I
think a mark of 140 is a true reflection of his ability but fingers crossed he
can be competitive."
Frisco Depot is a 33/1
chance with Betfred, official betting partner of the 2013 John Smith's Grand
National.
Last year's third Seabass
(16/1 with Betfred), trained in Ireland by Ted Walsh,made an encouraging
return to action when staying on strongly to snatch second in a two-mile hurdle
at Fairyhouse on February 5. Walsh, who saddled the 2000 Grand National hero
Papillon, is also responsible for another leading Irish hope Colbert Station
(20/1), who won the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas and
annexed a Pertemps qualifier over hurdles at Punchestown on February 3.
Currently heading the
ante-post market at with Betfred at 14/1 are the Willie Mullins-trained duo of Prince
De Beauchene and On His Own. Prince De Beauchene was a winner over
the Mildmay fences at the 2011 John Smith's Grand National meeting and returned
to action with a smooth success over hurdles at Limerick on December 27, while
On His Own was travelling well in third when parting company with Paul Townend
at Becher's Brook on the second circuit of the 2012 John Smith's Grand
National.
Weights for the John
Smith's Grand National are framed by the British Horseracing Authority's Head
of Handicapping, Phil Smith.
The John Smith's Grand
National is the only race in the calendar when Smith is permitted to use his
own discretion and judgment, rather than relying on central ratings.
Smith said today: "In
terms of numbers, there is one more entry than last year. We have got
Cheltenham Festival winners, as well as Grade One winners and big handicap
winners, among the entries, which is what you would expect for the John Smith's
Grand National."
THE 2013
JOHN SMITH'S GRAND NATIONAL
Class 1,
Grade 3, £975,000 total prize fund. 4.15pm, Aintree, Saturday, April
6, 2013, about four miles, three and a half furlongs. For seven-year-olds and
upwards who, up to and including March 18, 2013, have been placed first,
second, third or fourth in a chase of three miles or more and which are
allotted a rating of 120 or more by the BHA Head of Handicapping following a
review of the horses entered and after taking account of races run up to and
including February 10, 2013. Horses who are not qualified for a rating in Great
Britain or Ireland at closing may also be entered. Such horses may be eligible
for a weight providing the handicapper is satisfied that the horse's racecourse
performances up to and including February 10 would merit a minimum rating of
120. To qualify, horses must have run at least three times in chases run under
the Rules of Racing of the same Recognised Racing Authority up to and including
February 10, 2013. At the handicapper's discretion, such horses may be
allocated a rating. The decision of the BHA Head of Handicapping shall be
final. The British Horseracing Authority has modified Rule (F)42.2.1 for the
purposes of this race, such that racecourse performances up to and including
Sunday, February 12, may be taken into account. A novice horse shall only be
qualified to run in this race if it has run a minimum of three times in chases
in Great Britain, Ireland or France in accordance with Rule (F)42.5. Highest
weight 11st 10lb - no penalties after publication of the weights. Entries
closed January 29, entries revealed January 30 (84 entries, 1 subsequently
scratched before publication of the weights), weights revealed February 12,
first scratchings' deadline February 26, second scratchings' deadline March 19.
Five-day confirmation stage April 1, final declaration stage 10.00am, April 4.
Maximum field size of 40, plus four reserves. Form figures supplied by
Weatherbys and are correct up to and including the racing of Wednesday,
February 6.
Form
Horse Age Owner Trainer
P3-1120 ACROSS
THE BAY (IRE) 9 Scotch Piper Syndicate Donald McCain
P12/123- ALBERTAS
RUN (IRE) 12 Trevor Hemmings Jonjo O'Neill
0513-30 ALFIE
SHERRIN 10 J P McManus Jonjo O'Neill
044001- ALWAYS
WAINING (IRE) 12 Mr & Mrs Peter James Douglas Peter Bowen
3-614U4 ANY
CURRENCY (IRE) 10 Cash Is King Martin Keighley
2-U0P45 AURORAS
ENCORE (IRE) 11 D Pryde, J Beaumont & D P van der Hoeven Sue Smith
P/5000/P-
BACKSTAGE (FR) 11 MPR & Capranny Syndicate Gordon
Elliott IRE
121/46-P BALLABRIGGS
(IRE) 12 Trevor Hemmings Donald McCain
P0F1-12 BALTHAZAR
KING (IRE) 9 The Brushmakers Philip Hobbs
2F-63PP BECAUSEICOULDNTSEE
(IRE) 10 Noel Glynn Noel Glynn IRE
1/U121/5-
BESHABAR (IRE) 11 Middleham Park Racing X & Ann Burrows Tim
Vaughan
440/-U31 BIG
FELLA THANKS 11 Crossed Fingers Partnership Tom George
051130
BOB LINGO (IRE) 11 J P McManus Tom Mullins IRE
P-06F226 BOSTONS
ANGEL (IRE) 9 Elder Scouller Jessica Harrington IRE
5110-P4 CALGARY
BAY (IRE) 10 Camilla Radford Mick Channon
234-F21 CALL
THE POLICE (IRE) 10 DD Racing Syndicate Willie Mullins IRE
P//1334-2
CAPPA BLEU (IRE) 11 William & Angela Rucker Evan
Williams
2B-0U63 CHICAGO
GREY (IRE) 10 John Earls Gordon Elliott IRE
40//2161-3
CLOUDY LANE 13 Trevor Hemmings Donald McCain
413-5211 COLBERT
STATION (IRE) 9 J P McManus Ted Walsh IRE
1P-4PP0 CROSS
APPEAL (IRE) 7 John Corr Noel Meade IRE
120-25F FABALU
(IRE) 11 Tim Leslie Donald McCain
64-2P15 FORPADYDEPLASTERER
(IRE) 11 Goat Racing Syndicate Thomas Cooper IRE
21B-4FP FRISCO
DEPOT 9 Waley-Cohen, Burke, Broughton, Broughton Charlie Longsdon
0/44-060 GULLIBLE
GORDON (IRE) 10 Yeh Man Partnership Peter Bowen
112P-P0 HARRY
THE VIKING 8 Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason, R Wood & P Done Paul
Nicholls
51U/1P/-2
IMPERIAL COMMANDER (IRE) 12 Our Friends in the North Nigel
Twiston-Davies
30/1122/-
JESSIES DREAM (IRE) 10 David Johnson Gordon Elliott
IRE
11P3-02 JOIN
TOGETHER (IRE) 8 Ian Fogg & Paul Barber Paul Nicholls
20-3523 JONCOL
(IRE) 10 Kay Browne Paul Nolan IRE
4-F0211 KATENKO
(FR) 7 A Brooks Venetia Williams
01236-14 LAMBRO
(IRE) 8 Byerley Thoroughbred Racing Willie Mullins IRE
10511-P LION
NA BEARNAI (IRE) 11 The Lock Syndicate Tom Gibney IRE
6P00-1F LITTLE
JOSH (IRE) 11 Tony Bloom Nigel Twiston-Davies
011611
LOST GLORY (NZ) 8 J P McManus Jonjo O'Neill
PP-5220 MAGNANIMITY
(IRE) 9 Gigginstown House Stud Dessie Hughes IRE
4P2P-26 MAJOR
MALARKEY (IRE) 10 Baker, Dodd & Cooke Nigel Twiston-Davies
030U-06 MATUHI
10 Willsford Racing Incorporated David Pipe
310-3P4 MIDNIGHT
CHASE 11 Lady Clarke Neil Mulholland
04-13116 MISTER
HYDE (IRE) 8 Bensaranat Club & W McLuskey Jonjo O'Neill
1P-2215 MORTIMERS
CROSS 12 John Needham John Needham
0-23602 MR
MOONSHINE (IRE) 9 Sue Smith Sue Smith
1133FP MUMBLES
HEAD (IRE) 12 Karen Bowen Peter Bowen
1F-3F60 NINETIETH
MINUTE (IRE) 10 Dermot Cox Tom Taaffe IRE
33F425 ODYSSEAS
(FR) 10 Mrs Jean Porzier Yann Porzier FR
4P1/B1F- ON
HIS OWN (IRE) 9 Andrea & Graham Wylie Willie Mullins IRE
632/4-4U OSCAR
TIME (IRE) 12 Robert Waley-Cohen/Sir Martin & Simon Broughton
Martin Lynch IRE
05r316
OUTLAW PETE (IRE) 9 J P McManus John Halley IRE
11/P10/-0
PANDORAMA (IRE) 10 R J Bagnall Noel Meade IRE
30/F2PP- PEARLYSTEPS
10 The Glazeley Partnership Henry Daly
0-000165 PENTIFFIC
(NZ) 10 P Sinn, P Lawrence, L Sutcliffe, M Smith Venetia Williams
5/230-53 PLANET
OF SOUND 11 Charles Lloyd-Baker Philip Hobbs
(0)6U1/-50
POKER DE SIVOLA (FR) 10 David Johnson Ferdy Murphy
351/51-1 PRINCE
DE BEAUCHENE (FR) 10 Andrea & Graham Wylie Willie Mullins IRE
1211-5F PROBLEMA
TIC (FR) 7 Jo Tracey David Pipe
F1113-0 QUEL
ESPRIT (FR) 9 Red Barn Syndicate Willie Mullins IRE
131P/PP- QUINZ
(FR) 9 Andrew Cohen Philip Hobbs
4010F-60 QUISCOVER
FONTAINE (FR) 9 J P McManus Willie Mullins IRE
13-3361 QUITO
DE LA ROQUE (FR) 9 Gigginstown House Stud Colm Murphy IRE
053B0-6 RARE
BOB (IRE) 11 D A Syndicate Dessie Hughes IRE
000-1U35 ROBERTO
GOLDBACK (IRE) 11 Simon Munir Nicky Henderson
511112
ROI DU MEE (FR) 8 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott IRE
U1F1020 ROMANESCO
(FR) 8 Annie Flora Joan Bowles Gordon Elliott IRE
4U01-F4 SAINT
ARE (FR) 7 David Fox Tim Vaughan
1//11113-2
SEABASS (IRE) 10 Gunners Syndicate Ted Walsh IRE
0-121365 SHAKERVILZ
(FR) 10 Wicklow Bloodstock Limited Willie Mullins IRE
1/21B-00 SOLL
8 Derrick Mossop Jo Hughes
1P/1/401-3
SUMMERY JUSTICE (IRE) 9 Mrs H Brown Venetia Williams
P012-5P SUNNYHILLBOY
(IRE) 10 J P McManus Jonjo O'Neill
00P-P14 SWING
BILL (FR) 12 David Johnson David Pipe
1P1142 TARQUINIUS
(FR) 10 Mrs M Furlong Gordon Elliott IRE
50-6440 TARTAK
(FR) 10 Power Panels Electrical Systems Ltd Tim Vaughan
0/015U-6 TATENEN
(FR) 9 The Stewart Family Richard Rowe
P11-062 TEAFORTHREE
(IRE) 9 T437 Rebecca Curtis
5/5/4-14P
THE PACKAGE 10 David Johnson David Pipe
04-311P THE
RAINBOW HUNTER 9 May We Never Be Found Out Partnership Kim Bailey
541-121 TIDAL
BAY (IRE) 12 Andrea & Graham Wylie Paul Nicholls
1-12141 TOFINO
BAY (IRE) 10 Gigginstown House Stud Dessie Hughes IRE
51423F- TREACLE
(IRE) 12 Bjorn Nielsen Tom Taaffe IRE
FP-023P2 VIKING
BLOND (FR) 8 Caroline Mould Nigel Twiston-Davies
13PF-4P WEIRD
AL (IRE) 10 Brannon Dick Holden Donald McCain
4P/33F0- WHAT
A FRIEND 10 Ged Mason & Sir Alex Ferguson Paul Nicholls
11F2-11 WYCK
HILL (IRE) 9 SAB Partnership David Bridgwater
83
entries remain
31
Irish-trained
1
French-trained
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