Equestrian story by Gareth Bowman, Sat, 04 Feb 2006 03:12:00 GMT


The 2006 John Smith's Grand National to be held on April 8 at Aintree has received 148 entries making this the third biggest field since last year's 152 and 2003's 149. Defending champion Hedgehunter once again features in the tournament that carries prize money of £700,000.

The race runs for 30 fences and four and a half miles and is a prominent feature in the racing calendar. The Irish have registered a strong presence at the Grand National fielding a list of 38 horses. Hedgehunter's trainer Willie Mullins also has another couple of contenders in Euro Leader and Livingstonebramble. The weights for the race will be unveiled on February 14.

Charles Barnett the Managing Director at Aintree Racecourse was pleased with the interest generated by the race, “Last year's race provided an outstanding spectacle for John Smith's in their inaugural year of sponsorship and had the added bonus of all horses running from within the handicap for the first time." he said.

“This is yet another fantastic entry. Class is again in abundance and once again we have tremendous support from the Irish who have such a fantastic record in recent years.” Paul Nicholls has fielded 10 contenders and hopes to see Royal Auclair go one step ahead this time.

Royal was the runner-up last year. But Nicholls was optimistic about the chances of Cornish Rebel as well, "I really think the race will suit Cornish Rebel though. He will go for the Gold Cup first and as long as he is fit and well he will go for the National regardless of the result, but I would need to discuss it with the owners," he said, adding that each one of the 19 horses was capable of winning.

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