National rival hands AP the perfect boost

AP McCOY landed the second win of his last Aintree meeting thanks to a trainer he will be praying doesn’t win today’s Crabbie’s Grand National. Irishman Gordon Elliott trains Cause of Causes, a gelding owned by McCoy’s boss JP McManus and one of the mounts he could have taken in this afternoon’s race instead of Shutthefrontdoor. McCoy won on board Elliott’s Don Cossack, who took apart a strong Melling Chase field with a 26-length defeat of Cue Card. Afterwards, Elliott (below), enjoying his third winner of the meeting and the man who trained 2007 National winner Silver Birch, preferred to concentrate on Don Cossack’s win rather than the National jockey arrangements. Elliott, who has booked Paul Carberry to ride Cause of Causes, said: ‘We have got Paul which is good but if we had AP it would have been twice as good. ‘They make their decisions and we will enjoy today and worry about tomorrow tomorrow.’ A dramatic race saw Balder Succes fall at the third fence and Sire De Grugy come down at the sixth. McCoy settled the matter with a decisive move entering the home straight. Don Cossack’s only defeat in six runs this season came when he did not show his best and ended up third to Uxizandre in the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Elliott added: ‘Two years ago I said he was the best horse we have ever had. We had a bad season with him but he has proven how good he is. It will be the Gold Cup next season.’ McCoy’s penultimate ride over the Grand National fences ended in disappointment when Eastlake was pulled up in an action-packed Topham Chase in which only 10 of the 30 starters completed. Success went to Nicky Henderson’s Rajdhani Express, who overhauled long-time leader Fairy Rath after the last. It was a sixth win in races over the famous Aintree fences for amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen, who rides Oscar Time in today’s big race. Meanwhile, also Gold Cup-bound next season is Paul Nicholls-trained Saphir Du Rheu, 15-length winner of the Grade One Betfred Mildmay Novices’ Chase under Sam Twiston-Davies. Twenty four hours earlier, a second consecutive success for Silviniaco Conti in Thursday’s Betfred Bowl, along with the fact that the gelding has been beaten three times in the Gold Cup, had left Nicholls feeling he did not have a contender for next season but all that has changed now. Nicholls said: ‘After yesterday, I didn’t think we had a Gold Cup horse but we definitely do now. This is a very special horse.’ The day for jockey Brian Hughes had started badly when he took a fall from a hunter while riding as a guest of former Aintree chairman Lord Daresbury, bashing his nose and lip. But it also proved to be a lucky omen. The last time Hughes had ridden out on the Daresbury estate before Aintree, he landed the 2010 Topham Chase on Always Waining. This time he followed it with success on Cyrius Darius in the Grade Two E-Lites Top Novices’ Hurdle. It was a second race win of the meeting for Hughes, who rides outsider Ely Brown in the National. Winning trainer Malcolm Jefferson said: ‘I would love to have a nice two-mile chaser and he could be the one.’ IRISH jockey Robbie McNamara was last night considered very doubtful to take the ride on top weight Lord Windermere after being taken to hospital following a fall in the first race at Wexford. Also, Wayne Hutchinson must receive medical clearance to ride Godsmejudge after he was stood down from his remaining rides yesterday following a fall from Balder Succes in the Melling Chase.