Codd, Jacob score on National day
JAMIE CODD and Daryl Jacob kept the Wexford flag flying with big wins on Grand National Day at Aintree on Saturday, and J.J. Slevin got an honourable second in a great duel with Davy Russell in the £100k Grade 1 Novices Chase.
Codd and Slevin had flown home to Wexford after Thursday’s card at Aintree, and both had a winner at Bettyville on Friday before flying back to Liverpool on Saturday morning.
Codd followed up his impressive bumper win at Wexford with a hard-fought success in the final race at Aintree, the £50k hurdle for amateur and conditional riders, aboard Gordon Elliott’s Chief Justice (13/2), holding on by a head from Darragh O’Keeffe on Thistimenextyear (6/1).
O’Keeffe, from Mallow, had also ridden a winner at Wexford.
Jacob was a comfortable winner of the race staged before the National, the £75k Betway Handicap chase, on Kildisart (8/1) for Ben Pauling.
Slevin had to give best on Joseph O’Brien’s Us and Them (3/1), behind Russell on Henry De Bromhead’s front-running Ornua (3/1).
All three of them, and Tom O’Brien, were involved in the Aintree Grand National where Tiger Roll and Davy Russell so impressively won their second in a row.
Two of them managed to get around among the 19 finishers, with O’Brien 14th on Colin Tizzard’s Ultragold (50/1), and Daryl Jacob 18th on Nicky Henderson’s Valtor (66/1).
Jamie Codd was on Mala Beach (33/1) for Gordon Elliott and was never in contention and pulled up after the third from home, while J.J. Slevin was near the head of the field before falling at the 19th on Elliott’s General Principle (33/1), the horse on which he won the Irish Grand National last Easter.
It was a good Aintree meeting for the Power family from The Hook. Pierce looked like training the winner of the Foxhunters, the amateurs’ Grand National, on Thursday when Derek O’Connor took his Burning Ambition (4/1) to the front in the straight but he was hauled back in by Top Wood (14/1).
Pierce’s nephew Robbie Power, son of former showjumping star, Captain Con, had a great meeting with three big winners, Supasundae (15/2) for Jessica Harrington which beat Buveur D’air (5/6) in the £250k Grade 1 hurdle, and two for Colin Tizzard, Lostintranslation (3/1) in the £100k Mildmay Novices’ chase and Reserve Tank (20/1) in the £100k Grade 1 Mersey Novices’ Hurdle.
At home, Aidan O’Brien flexed his muscles with a big team at the Guineas Trials meeting at Leopardstown on Saturday and combined with Ryan Moore for a 97/1 treble – Never No More (5/2) in the €50k 2,000 Guineas trial, Broome (5/2) in the €60k Ballysax Stakes, and Eminence (7/1) in the €17k handicap.