Papillon and the other Irish-trained Grand National horses will be hoping for a smooth plane ride to Liverpool today after having their journey delayed by 24 hours due to the weather.
A ferry trip was ruled out yesterday due to heavy seas, leaving Papillon, Hollybank Buck and the Grand National's first reserve, Merry People, dependent on a plane trip to Liverpool's Speke Airport which is expected to land at 12.30 today.
Also on the plane will be Inis Cara, who will run under Venetia Williams's name in tomorrow's big race, but Merry People's appearance depends on one of the 40 declared runners dropping out. "It's going to be a photo finish but we're hopeful," Merry People's trainer John Queally said.
The ante-post focus, however, is on Edmond, who was cut to 12 to 1 for the Grand National yesterday, and the Coral spokesman Simon Clare went so far as to suggest: "If the rain falls as forecast in the next couple of days, soft ground horses will be popular and although Papillon is sure to have his supporters, Edmond could well go off favourite."
The other big mover was Blowing Wind, the selection of Tony McCoy from 10 Martin Pipe-trained National runners, who was slashed to 20 to 1 after the champion jockey made his decision yesterday. The official ground at Aintree is now officially soft, with more rain forecast.
The sole declared Irish runner today is the Mouse Morris-trained Rostropovich, but he is a doubtful runner due to travel problems. The highlight, however, is the £120,000 Melling Chase, which Direct Route is bidding to win for a remarkable fourth consecutive year. However, the ground can hardly be described as ideal for him, nor for the reigning champion chaser, Edredon Bleu, while question marks can also be put against Tuitchev's relish for a soft-ground slog.
In the circumstances, the safest option could be the former Arkle Trophy winner Flagship Uberalles, who was taking on a tough task when beaten by Function Dream at Newbury but who has had a comparatively light season up to now.
After the dramatics in yesterday's Foxhunters, the John Hughes Tophy over the big fences should be well worth looking at. It might be a different story for betting purposes but Red Ark should at least give people a run; while the highly rated Valley Henry should be able to handle the going and bounce back to form in the Sefton Hurdle.
