TRUST IN LAST T0 FINISH FIRST
NEWSBOY’S 1-2-3
1 THE LAST SAMURI
2 BLESS THE WINGS
3 CAUSE OF CAUSES
THE LAST SAMURI has plenty going for him in his bid to make his cross-country debut a winning one.
The 10-year-old, trained by Kim Bailey (right) is best remembered for his second to Rule The World in the 2016 Grand National – but there are plenty of other high spots.
Before going to Aintree, the chestnut had won Doncaster’s valuable Grimthorpe Handicap Chase by 10 lengths off a rating of 149.
And he’s been close to his best this winter, following a comeback second over hurdles at Kempton in November with a second to Blaklion in the Becher over the National fences the following month.
After a fourth to Gold Cup hope Definitly Red in Cheltenham’s Cotswold Chase in January, The Last Samuri still has a rating of 159. That makes him the highest-rated on show, and recent practice over the course will have helped him get his eye in. Cause Of Causes Tiger Roll, and with five Festival successes between them, demand respect, along with stablemate Bless The Wings.