Moscow Flyer is in the Grand National MEETING

DaBreno

Not the actual GN race but the £150,000 Melling Chase. Whoops!


From Racingpost:

MOSCOW FLYER was on Monday reported to be on target to run at the John Smith?s Grand National meeting at Aintree next week as trainer Jessica Harrington revealed that the highest-rated chaser in training will not ?have too many more days out? before retirement beckons.

The impeccable flagship of Irish racing, whose jockey Barry Geraghty said bore comparison with Arkle, will appear next in the £150,000 Melling Chase, which he won last year.

That Aintree trip followed a rare fall for the horse in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, but this year connections have opted to head to Aintree on the back a stunning win in same race.

?We are not going to have too many more days out with him,? trainer Jessica Harrington said of the 11-year-old on Monday, ?so we might as well go while we have the chance.

?The horse is in great form and, assuming all goes well in the meantime, he will run at Aintree.?

A year ago, Moscow Flyer had his Cheltenham setback to overcome when heading to Aintree 16 days later, yet he started evens favourite and beat Isio by an easy six lengths.

This year the gap is 23 days, although the recovery time for Punchestown?s Grade 1 Kerrygold Champion Chase, which Moscow Flyerwent on to win after Aintree, would be just 18 days compared to 25 last season.

Another Aintree development was slotted into place on Monday when Tony Dobbin confirmed he would honour a longstanding commitment to ride Just In Debt, leaving spare the ride on leading fancy Take The Stand.

Despite Take The Stand?s Festival heroics under Dobbin to take second place in the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, the jockey insisted he will stay loyal to the Martin Todhunter-trained challenger he had agreed to partner at Aintree before the Festival meeting.

?I told the owners of Just In Debt a good few weeks back that I would ride their horse and I won?t go back on my word,? said Dobbin, who won the 1997 National winner Lord Gyllene.

?Atthe moment that?s how it is and things won?t change unless Just In Debt didn?t run.?

Just In Debt has already proved himself over unique Grand National fences, finishing second in the Becher Chase at Aintree in November under Dobbin and was givenan outing over hurdles on his only start since.

?Off Just In Debt?s run in the Becher Chase behind Silver Birch he would have sound claims,? Dobbin added. ?He loved it round there and must have an outside chance.?

Dobbin?s commitment to Just In Debt also rules him out of consideration for Grey Abbey, should his regular jockey Graham Lee decide to stick with the favourite, and last year?s winner Amberleigh House.

Take The Stand?s trainer Peter Bowen will bide his time and wait to see if another leading rider becomes available before choosing a replacement with Seamus Durack, virtually an ever-present on the horse until Cheltenham, opting to partner stablemate Ballycassidy in the National.

?I don?t know who is going to rideTake The Stand yet,? said Bowen.

?Seamus is riding Ballycassidy and all the other top boys are booked. McCoy will be committed to J P McManus so I will wait another week and see what happens. Seamus committed himself to Ballycassidy before we decided we were going to run Take The Stand in the National.?

In other Aintree news, Alan King has yet to make a decision on whether his classy hurdler Crystal D'Ainay will make the switch to fences for the £150,000 Betfair Bowl on Thursday week.

tiedcottage

Well, that was about as predictable as the sun rising tomorrow. Pretty much a no contest, 2½m around Aintree being as easy a 2½m as you can get. I would have loved to see them try him over 3m, just once, but it'll never happen. If only we could see him take on Kicking King at Punchestown, though what Geraghty would do, God only knows.

Healio

I have to admit it is nice to see the highest rated chaser in training running/aimed at more races than Best Mate.

tiedcottage

Valid enough point, though it's easier for 2m horses to keep coming back than Gold Cup horses, as the many dual winners of the Champion Chase testify.

Mind you, JL and HK were considering aiming BM at both the Gold Cup and the National next year. I wonder what they'll do now...