racing_news/

Jefferson Aiming for totesuper7 Grand Sefton Glory with Brooklyn Brownie 16/11/09

Two key trials for the John Smith’s Grand National take place at Aintree next weekend as the Merseyside course hosts the second and concluding day of the Northwest Racing Masters on Sunday, November 22.

While various contenders for the world’s greatest steeplechase are set to line up in the three and a quarter-mile £100,000 Listed totesport.com Becher Chase (1.45pm), the day’s other contest over the Grand National fences, the £70,000 totesuper7 Grand Sefton Handicap Chase (12.35pm) is also set to provide some valuable clues for next April.

The extended two mile, five furlong contest was run as an open handicap for the first time last year and attracted a classy field of 13, including proven Graded performers and the previous winners of the John Smith’s Topham Chase and the Kerry National.

Racegoers were treated to a grandstand finish as Scottish trainer Jim Goldie celebrated a second successive success in the race with Endless Power. The eight-year-old made all of the running and bravely fended off the late challenge of Brooklyn Brownie despite tying up near the line on the soft ground, prompting commentator Richard Hoiles to recall memories of Crisp and Red Rum in the 1973 Grand National.

After saddling the runner-up 12 months ago, trainer Malcolm Jefferson is hopeful that Brooklyn Brownie can go one place better in this year’s race. The 10-year-old had previously beaten subsequent Grade One Betfair Chase scorer Snoopy Loopy in the 2008 Perth Gold Cup and returned to Aintree in April to contest the John Smith’s Grand National, in which he made an early departure when falling at the second fence.

Jefferson revealed: “We will give Brooklyn Brownie an entry in the totesuper7 Grand Sefton Handicap Chase, though there is a chance he could go for the Betfair Racing Multiples Handicap Chase at Haydock Park the previous day instead.

“He will run in one of the races - we will just keep an eye on the ground - but I am leaning towards Aintree at the moment.

“He has done grand over the summer - he has been working well recently and I am pleased with him. He has done very well for us over the years and I thought that he ran a blinder 12 months ago.

“I have looked back at the race a few times and I thought that he was going to pull himself up at one stage and then the next thing I thought that he was going to win! It was just unfortunate that he fell early on in the John Smith’s Grand National - it happens to a lot of good horses.

“We will certainly think about returning to Aintree in April, although it’s a long way off at the moment and we see how he gets on over the fences again before making any proper plans.“

The totesport.com Becher Chase has produced two winners of the John Smith’s Grand National in recent times, with Amberleigh House and Silver Birch going on to win the big one.

Last year’s totesport.com Becher Chase victor Black Apalachi was leading the field in the John Smith’s Grand National until unseating his ride at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit.

All eyes will be on Haydock Park for the first day of the Northwest Racing Masters as Kauto Star bids for a third victory in the feature race, the three-mile £200,000 Grade One Betfair Chase. The Paul Nicholls-trained nine-year-old, the best chaser of recent times, fell at the final fence last season but is reported to be in fine shape by his handler.

The seven-race card also includes the £100,000 Listed Timeform Betfair Racing Club “Fixed Brush” Handicap Hurdle, won the Jefferson-trained According To Pete last season, and the £50,000 Tune Into Timeform Radio Hurdle, which was taken in convincing fashion 12 months ago by Binocular, who went on to be third in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

About the Northwest Racing Masters

A superb seven-race card on the first day of the Northwest Racing Masters at Haydock Park on Saturday, November 21 is headed by the Betfair Chase, now in its fifth year and won by the great Kauto Star in 2006 and 2007. Day one also includes the £100,000 Listed Timeform Betfair Racing Club "Fixed Brush" Handicap Hurdle and the £50,000 Tune Into Timeform Radio Hurdle.

The second day of the Northwest Racing Masters at Aintree on Sunday, November 22, features two excellent contests over the world-famous Grand National course among six races, the totesport.com Becher Chase and the totesuper7 Grand Sefton Chase.

Tickets for both days can be booked online at www.aintree.co.uk and www.haydock-park.co.uk

The Northwest Racing Masters, from the first running in 2005, has established itself as an event, giving racegoers the opportunity of experiencing two different historic courses within a short journey of each other - Haydock Park, between Manchester and Liverpool and close to St Helens, Wigan and Warrington, and Aintree on the northern edge of Liverpool.

The two racecourses are easily accessible by motorway, with Haydock Pak within a mile of the M6 off junction 23 and Aintree close to the end of both the M57 and M58. Both courses boast superb facilities and are ideal for a day out. The whole family can come, with accompanied children aged 16 and under admitted FREE OF CHARGE.