RACING NEWS:IF BLUESEA Cracker can become the first mare in 60 years to win Saturday week's John Smith's Aintree Grand National she will complete a famous racing double as well as bringing more sporting glory to a corner of Cork hardly unacquainted with the concept.

The village of Cloyne will always be synonymous with the legendary hurler Christy Ring and Bluesea Cracker is based just outside it in the stables of trainer James Motherway.

It was from there she travelled to Fairyhouse last Easter to record a notable success in the Irish National, a race that both Bobbyjo (1999) and Numbersixvalverde (2006) used as a springboard to glory at Liverpool.

Bluesea Cracker is as low as 20-1 in some ante-post lists to pull off a similarly spectacular double under her big race jockey Andrew McNamara. Motherways’s focus right now, however, is as much on his computer screen as his stable star.

“She does like some cut in the ground and it’s good news that they’re expecting some rain this week at Aintree. I’ve been keeping an eye on the weather over there on this website I use. I don’t know how accurate it can be but they’re predicting 22-23mms of rain over the next while so that would be good,” the trainer said yesterday.

“She won a point-to-point on good to yielding so we know she can stride out on nice ground but something like good to soft would be ideal,” he added.

Bluesea Cracker finished last of the six finishers behind the National favourite, The Midnight Club, in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse last time but was not right for that race.

“I was happy up to a point with the run. Mark (Walsh) told me he thought she was going to get into it but then she petered out at the second last. But when we scoped her afterwards she wasn’t clean, so at least we had a reason.

“Everything has been great since. We treated her with antibiotics and she responded well. And when we took her to Tipperary for a gallop last week she scoped spotless after it,” Motherway said.

Nickel Coin in 1951 was the last of the 13 mares who feature on the Aintree National roll-of-honour. The most demanding challenge in National Hunt racing can be daunting for both horse and jockey but Motherway is happy with Bluesea Cracker’s weight of 10.4 and that she always seems to thrive in the springtime.

Both of her major triumphs to date – the Irish National and a Grade Two novice at Limerick in 2009 – have come in the month of April.

“Her best performances do seem to come in the spring of the year. You’d like to think it could be the same again,” he said yesterday.

“I can’t see the topweight (Don’t Push It) coming out so if we can stay on that weight, I’ll be delighted. Andrew rode her in a gallop last week and was very happy with her and said he would do the weight,” Motherway added.

Bluesea Cracker is twice the ante-post price of Oscar Time who she beat by four and a half lengths in last year’s Irish National and the old rivals are due to be part of a strong Irish challenge next week.

The Midnight Club has been consistently backed in the last few days into as low as 8-1 favourite for the Willie Mullins-Ruby Walsh team.

Ground conditions on the National course have been “good” in recent days but a band of rain is forecast to hit the Merseyside area today.