RACING/Aintree news: Barry Geraghty is a 7 to 2 second favourite to be the leading rider at Aintree this week with a book of rides that includes the Gold Cup fourth Valley Henry in tomorrow's Martell Cup.
However, Valley Henry will have to cope with a strong Irish challenge in the race headed by Commanche Court who will be ridden by Geraghty's great rival Ruby Walsh.
Commanche Court, sixth in the Gold Cup, had been earmarked for a trip to Japan in 17 days for the lucrative Nakayama Grand Jump.
But instead he is being targeted at Liverpool along with another Irish contender, the Arthur Moore-trained More Than A Stroll.
Geraghty emerged as the leading jockey at the Cheltenham festival with five winners but despite that is still headed in the Ladbrokes Aintree market by Tony McCoy.
Ladbrokes bet: 5-2 Tony McCoy, 7-2 Barry Geraghty and Richard Johnson, 4 Ruby Walsh, 8 Mick Fitzgerald, 14 Tony Dobbin, 16 Bar.
Native Upmanship is on course to try to repeat last year's success in Friday's Melling Chase and the SunAlliance Hurdle winner Hardy Eustace will be another Irish star in action on Friday, in the Sefton Novices Hurdle.
Tony McCoy will decide on his Martell Grand National mount today. He returns to the saddle at Ascot today for the first time since breaking his collarbone when falling from Golden Alpha at the third last fence in Cheltenham's Grand Annual Challenge Cup.
It has been widely reported that McCoy is keen to take the mount on Iris Bleu but the jockey would not be drawn until speaking to Pipe.
The Midleton, Co Cork, trainer John Crowley died suddenly on Monday night. Aged 62, Crowley trained many winners during his career including the star novice Ballinacurra Lad.
Crowley was a former jockey whose greatest success came on the Paddy Mullins-trained Herring Gull in the 1968 Irish Grand National. The horse had won at the Cheltenham festival, also ridden by Crowley.
