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Goldie Aiming for totesuper7 Grand Sefton Chase Hat-trick with Craiglands 19/11/09

Trainer Jim Goldie knows what it takes to land the £70,000 totesuper7 Grand Sefton Handicap Chase (12.35pm), having sent out Lampion Du Bost to victory over the National fences in 2007 and followed up with Endless Power 12 months ago.

This year, the Scottish handler will bid for a third successive victory in the extended two-mile, five furlong, contest with Craiglands, who has yet to finish out of the frame in five chase appearances.

The seven-year-old scored in hunter chases at Sedgefield and Cheltenham earlier this year and goes into Sunday’s race following a staying-on second in a two and a half-mile handicap chase on Aintree’s Mildmay course on October 24.

Goldie said: “Craiglands is a definite runner in the totesuper7 Grand Sefton Handicap Chase. I was pleased with his run at Aintree last time out - he was hampered at the final fence but I think that the winner won on merit.

“He is taking a big step up in class but he is in the handicap. The National fences are a bit of an unknown until a horse has been over them, but we are hoping that he takes to them and, if he jumps well, then I think that he will be involved in the finish.

“He has a different profile to Endless Power, who was a very brave and very bold jumper. Horses like that can sometimes be a bit of a worry over such big fences because sometimes they can be too brave and can come unstuck.

“Craiglands is quite a clever jumper, like Lampion Du Bost. He is cat-like and more economical over his fences, which is probably better around Aintree. He has jumped round Cheltenham and the Mildmay course and I am quite hopeful that he will take to the National fences.

“I would have preferred slightly faster ground in an ideal world but soft going slows the horses down and makes the fences appear a bit smaller. We are at the right end of the handicap for the conditions - I would be more worried if we were near the head of the weights. He ran well on quite soft ground at Perth last July and it will be fresh ground on Sunday, so I wouldn’t have any real concerns.”

Other notable contenders for the totesuper7 Grand Sefton Chase include the 2008 Galway Plate winner Oslot, last year’s runner-up Brooklyn Brownie, Wetherby Listed scorer Bible Lord, and Frankie Figg, who defeated Craiglands at Aintree on his latest start.

The day’s other contest on the Grand National course is the £100,000 Listed totesport.com Becher Handicap Chase (1.45pm). The three and a quarter-mile race is a leading trial for the John Smith’s Grand National, with both Amberleigh House and Silver Birch having triumphed in both races in recent years.

One horse on track for this year’s renewal of the totesport.com Becher Chase is Palypso De Creek, trained by Charlie Longsdon. The six-year-old won four times in France, including a Grade Three handicap chase over three miles at Auteuil, and was successful on his first outing for Longsdon at Towcester in a three-mile novices’ hurdle on October 25.

Longsdon revealed today: “Palypso De Creek is on target for the totesport.com Becher Handicap Chase. We spruced up some of our fences at home to make them more like the National obstacles and he seemed to take to them well - he has always jumped brilliantly.

“I thought that he would need the run over hurdles last time out and I was bit worried that the ground might have been too quick for him. But he’s a horse who has run well over hurdles as a novice in France and, based on that form, he should have won the race fairly easily.

“He has come on a lot since then and he is going back to fences, which is what he is good at. He has won on heavy at Auteuil but I am not really fussed about the ground - we have always been told that he wants a trip and he wants soft ground. Obviously, we won’t know for sure until he runs, but it looks like he will get his ideal conditions on Sunday.

“The John Smith’s Grand National is an option for him and we want to see how he takes to the fences. If he doesn’t jump them, we will have to scrap those plans, but if he runs well then we will obviously have to consider coming back in April. We will find out a lot more about him on Sunday.”

This year’s renewal looks set to be another top-quality race, with Irish handler Dessie Hughes sending over the classy Vic Venturi as he bids to follow up last year’s success of Black Apalachi.

Nigel Twiston-Davies, the only current trainer to have won the John Smith’s Grand National twice, may be represented by last season’s John Smith’s Topham Chase victor Irish Raptor and Scottish Grand National winner Hello Bud, while the Evan Williams-trained State Of Play could return to Aintree after coming fourth behind Mon Mome in the John Smith’s Grand National in April.

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 is between Manchester and Liverpool, close to St Helens, Wigan and Warrington. Aintree is 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.