National Under Renewed Scrutiny

Britain's gruelling Grand National has came under renewed fire after the death of two horses at the notorious Becher's Brook fence prompted passionate calls for a radical safety review.

Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Synchronised and According to Pete were both put down after falling at Becher's Brook, taking the total of fatalities at this year's three-day Aintree meeting to three.

The tragedy overshadowed a thrilling race where 33/1 shot Neptunes Collonges became the first grey to win the most famous race on the British calendar since Nicolaus Silver in 1961 when it pipped Sunnyhillboy in the closest finish in the National's 173-year history.

Two horses also died in the 2011 Grand National, leading officials at the course to modify the daunting Becher's challenge.

"The death of two horses at the Grand National, bringing the total to three at the Aintree meeting, is totally unacceptable," Gavin Grant, the chief executive of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) told the BBC.

"In its current format, the risks to horses are not appropriate and we want an urgent examination of the Grand National, including a number of fences such as Becher's Brook, where horses are continuing to die despite safety improvements."

Synchronised had already shown signs of distress before the race started when the nine-year-old unseated veteran jockey Tony McCoy.

The horse, who was looking to become the first horse to win the Gold Cup and Grand National since the legendary Golden Miller in 1934, broke away and it was several minutes before animal and jockey were reunited, delaying the start of the race by 10 minutes.

In a damage-limitation exercise, Aintree owners, as well as the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), moved to confront the gathering storm.

Tim Morris, the director of equine science and welfare for the BHA, said: "In both cases the horse incurred a fracture to the leg and the humane option was to put the injured horses down."

He added: "We will examine closely the circumstances which led to both incidents. The key data from these accidents will be collated, as is the BHA's policy in the event of any serious equine injury.

"Each year the BHA and Aintree review all incidents which occur during the Grand National meeting and consider what measures can be taken to address the risk of a repeat in the future."

David Muir, an equine consultant to the RSPCA, told The Guardian that drop fences - those like Becher's on one side of which the ground is lower than on the other side - should be removed before next year's race.

"I think the Grand National has a future if it changes and makes the risk factors lower and more acceptable," Muir said.

"If racing is to continue, racing must realise that people are concerned about horse fatalities on racecourses and the impetus to reduce the risk factor has to be greater."

For Synchronised's trainer, Jonjo O'Neill, the drama brought back the awful memory of when he rode Gold Cup winner Alverton in the 1979 National.

That horse also came to grief at Becher's and was also put down.

The winning owner, John Hales, spoke movingly about the mixed emotions he had at his horse's victory, 14 years after his much-loved gelding One Man died in the race.

"It split the family coming here," Hales said. "My wife was 50-50, my daughter couldn't face it. She has gone show jumping and is overcome with emotion."

Winning traner Paul Nicholls cautioned against making too many changes to the race.

"When you are in competitive sport, whatever you do, motor racing, hockey there is an element of risk," Nicholls told the BBC.

"The worst thing you can do is to go too far. You make the fences smaller, they go faster and you get more fallers.

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Jacob Gives Nicholls National Win

Neptune Collonges won the 2012 John Smith's Grand National at Aintree in the closest finish ever, with a nose the winning distance.

Paul Nicholls' grey (33-1), owned by John Hales and ridden brilliantly by Daryl Jacob, was one of several horses in with a chance turning for home but the former Gold Cup third stayed on best of all to collar Sunnyhillboy (16-1) right on the line.

Joint-favourite Seabass (8-1), ridden by Katie Walsh ran a fine race in third, with Evan Williams' Cappa Bleu (16-1) back in fourth.

Fifth place went to In Compliance (100-1), whilst last-year's hero Ballabriggs ran a gallant race one position further back.

The well-fancied Synchronised unseated Tony McCoy on the way down to the start and unfortunately the Gold Cup winner suffered a fatal fall.

West End Rocker and Junior departed at the second fence, whilst Viking Blond was the very first runner to go at the first obstacle

A clearly overcome Jacob said: "You can't beat this. I was on a tough horse and I said to Paul that one day I would ride you a National winner.

"That was two years ago and now I've done it."

Nicholls said: "He's probably the best horse we've run in the race. "He's got great form, he's been placed in Gold Cups, he stays, he's genuine and Daryl gave him a fantastic ride when you analyse where he went. It's absolutely brilliant.

"It's blown Nicky Henderson out of the water now (in the trainers' championship).

"Any good race would do, but this is the race we wanted."

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Irish Plan National Assault

JP McManus has put together a strong team to contest the Ladbrokes Irish Grand National with ante-post 8-1 favourite Groody Hill set to be joined by his Cheltenham Festival winner Alfie Sherrin and Pertemps Final second Catch Me at Fairyhouse on April 9.

Groody Hill, set to carry 10st 9lb and trained by Christy Roche, won three in a row before Christmas before finishing third in the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown.

The 69 entries include last year's winner Organisedconfusion and top-weight Seabass, who are both likely to run in the Aintree equivalent. McManus last landed the race in 2007 with Butler's Cabin.

Of Alfie Sherrin and Catch Me, racing manager Frank Berry said: "Both of them have come out of their respective races well and providing we get some rain they are likely to head to Fairyhouse."

Gigginstown House Stud, the other powerhouse owners in Irish National Hunt racing, are also likely to be well represented.

Racing manager Eddie O'Leary said: "We will hopefully run Magnanimity, who has really come back to himself recently, and Start Me Up is also another likely runner as are Gates of Rome and Crash, who both have possible Limerick engagements first."

Four Commanders is another in the mix for the team.

Cadogan would be bidding to give Jim Dreaper a fourth win in the race, having previously won it with Colebridge in 1974 and Brown Lad in 1975, 76 and 78.

"We have had some leg trouble with him but we are delighted to have won some races with him over the years," said Dreaper.

"The National has such a great prize on offer that we had to go for it, but he will obviously be very ground dependent."

Noel Meade has said at this stage it is likely Paul Carberry will ride Cross Appeal (10st 7lb).

"He is in really good form, we don't mind if the rain stays away for him or Fisher Bridge, but we would only run Medical Card if the ground came up on the soft side," Meade explained.

Other British entries are Cappa Bleu, Giles Cross, Le Beau Bai, Aigle d'Or, Midnight Haze and Master Overseer.

Noel O'Brien, Irish senior National Hunt handicapper, said: "Of the 69 entries, 64 of them are in the handicap and this will make for a very competitive renewal of the contest.

"It has attracted the top handicappers in the UK and Ireland, so it is sure to be a very exciting race."

The highlight of Sunday's card at the Fairyhouse festival is the Powers Gold Cup, which has attracted the promising novices Flemenstar and Rathlin, while Nicky Henderson's Cheltenham winner Bellvano has been entered in Tuesday's Dan Moore Memorial Chase.

Synchronised Set for Smith's National

Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Synchronised is one of 59 that remain in the John Smith's Grand National after Tuesday's scratchings stage.

Jonjo O'Neill's charge is rated 8/1 favourite to become the first horse since Golden Miller in 1934 to win chasing's two biggest prizes in the same season.

"He's been left in but we'll wait until nearer the time before we make any decisions," said Frank Berry, racing manager for owner JP McManus.

"He was tired for a day or two after Cheltenham, which you would expect as it was a marvellous performance.

"But Jonjo is pleased with him now and we'll wait a week or two before we decide what to do."

The same owner and trainer won the National with Don't Push It in 2010 and could have another leading hope in Sunnyhillboy, who was also a winner at Cheltenham last week in the Kim Muir Challenge Cup.

"He's also come out of the race good. He's in the National and the Irish National and he'll probably run in one of those. Nothing is set in stone yet," Berry added.

The weights continue to be headed by Synchronised on 11st 10lb, with last year's Grand National hero, Ballabriggs, 1lb behind on 11st 9lb.

Betfred make Prince De Beauchene the 9/1 second favourite for the race and he is one of six remaining entries from Willie Mullins' stable and one of 23 Irish-trained entries still in the race.

On His Own, winner of the Thyestes Chase for owners Graham and Andrea Wylie and Cheltenham Gold Cup ninth The Midnight Club are among Mullins' other entries.

Other Irish-trained contenders include the progressive Seabass, trained like the 2000 winner Papillon by Ted Walsh, and the 2011 Irish Grand National hero Organisedconfusion, the likely mount of Nina Carberry.

The Gold Cup form is also represented by fourth-placed Burton Port, Midnight Chase, who came seventh, and Weird Al, who was pulled up on Friday.

Malton trainer Malcolm Jefferson saddled a double at last week's Cheltenham Festival and he paraded his National hope According To Pete, winner of the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock in January, at Aintree today.

Other leading contenders include the David Pipe-trained Junior, winner of the Ascot Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2010 and the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase at the 2011 Cheltenham Festival, who is a 10/1 chance with Betfred after being beaten a short-head in a Doncaster handicap chase on March 3.

The Alan King-trained West End Rocker has not run since winning the Betfred Becher Handicap Chase over the National fences at Aintree on December 3 and is 16/1 with Betfred for the big race.

Philip Hobbs has withdrawn Fair Along but intends to run Planet Of Sound.

"Fair Along will probably run in the Scottish National instead. Planet Of Sound will definitely run providing everything goes all right," the Minehead trainer told At The Races.

Others among the 18 withdrawals were Massini's Maguire, Hold On Julio, Niche Market, Stewarts House and Backstage.

The five-day confirmation stage for the Grand National is on April 9 with the final declaration stage at 10am on April 12 when there can be a maximum field of 40 runners, with the provision for up to four reserves.

The two other races over the Grand National fences, the John Smith's Fox Hunters' Chase and the John Smith's Topham Chase, close on March 27.

Ruby, John Smith and Seabass

Seabass is in line for a crack at the John Smith’s Grand National after stretching his unbeaten run to seven in the paddypower.com Chase at Naas. The four-and-a-half-mile spectacular at Aintree may be a totally different test to this Grade Two contest over two miles — but trainer Ted Walsh believes it is worth a try.

And Walsh knows what it takes, having tasted National glory in 2000 with Papillon, who had finished fourth in this race in his glory season. Seabass had to show battling qualities, as well as a touch of class, when rallying in determined fashion to collar Zaarito close home by a length.

Sent off the 5-4 favourite, Seabass cut out the running with Saludos but Zaarito looked like he had timed his run to perfection when going on between the last two fences. However, Ruby Walsh got a tremendous late effort out of the nine-year-old to get up in the dying strides, much to the delight of his syndicate of owners, who hail from Co Galway.

“Seabass got under the last but was gutsy. He was out of his comfort zone over two miles and was going faster than he wanted to go, but battled well,” said the trainer. “Maybe some of the other horses weren’t as good as they used to be, but he was won €120,00 since he won his point to point and that’s not bad!

“If he stays sound, we’ll go to Aintree for the Grand National. There’s no ideal type of horse for that race, you won’t know until you get there. Nobody knows if he’ll get the trip, he’s never been beyond three miles, but I imagine looking at him he is the right type.

“However, the biggest problem is keeping him sound — he has been on the ‘scrap heap’ three times already.”

Walsh acknowledged that his son might be committed to a horse at Aintree trained either by Willie Mullins or Paul Nicholls, and he rode Prince De Beauchene to National favouritism at Fairyhouse on Saturday.

Should that be the case, Walsh senior would hand the ride to his daughter, Katie. He added: “The choice will be be Ruby‘s and he rides for Willie (Mullins) or Paul (Nicholls) but if for some reason they went by the wayside he might decide to ride this fellow. If he doesn’t, I have a very able substitute in Katie.”

Synchronised Top Weight for Aintree

Synchronised has been handed top weight of 11st 10lb for this year's Grand National at Aintree.

The nine-year-old Lexus Chase winner, trained by Jonjo O'Neill, recently won the Leopardstown Grade One and in 2011 triumphed in the Welsh National.

Ballabriggs, who shouldered 11st to victory in last year's race, will be saddled with 11st 9lb on 14 April.

Weird Al and Midnight Chase both sit on 11st 8lb, while Irish Hennessy winner Quel Esprit is on 11st 7lb.

The Henrietta Knight-trained Calgary Bay and Paul Nicholls's Neptune Collonges are both on 11st 6lb, while John Hanlon's Alfa Beat and Philip Hobbs' Planet Of Sound have been allotted 11st 5lb.

"I'm very happy with his weight but I wanted 11st," said Hanlon. "He's in great form at the moment and he'll have a run in Down Royal in about three weeks.

"Good ground is vital to him and he should get it over there. The National has been his aim all year."

The David Pipe-trained Junior, the 14-1 market leader, failed to get in the field last year but has a certain place in 2012 with 11st 2lb.

Aintree managing director Julian Thick said: "It is tremendous to see 69 of the 82 entries in the handicap and the 2012 renewal of Grand National promises to be a race full of quality, with more horses rated over 135 entered than ever before."

Full weights:

Synchronised - 11st 10lb

Ballabriggs - 11st 9lb

Weird Al, Midnight Chase - 11st 8lb

Quel Esprit, Burton Point - 11st 7lb

Calgary Bay, Neptune Collonges - 11st 6lb

Alfa Beat, Planet Of Sound - 11st 5lb

Blazing Tempo, Roberto Goldback - 11st 4lb

Deep Purple, Black Apalachi - 11st 3lb

Junior, Scotsirish, Quantitativeeasing, Tartak - 11st 2lb

Apt Approach, Little Josh - 11st 1lb

Psycho - 11st 0lb

Chicago Grey, Tatener - 10st 13lb

Shakalakaboomboom, West End Rocker, According to Pete, Seabass - 10st 12lb

On His Own, Hector's Choice, Massini's Maguire - 10st 11lb

Cappa Bleu, Always Right - 10st 10lb

Crescent Island, Rare Bob - 10st 9lb

Mon Mome, Organisedconfusion, The Midnight Club, Treacle - 10st 8lb

Hold On Julio, Alan King, Arbor Supreme, Cooldine, Hold on Julio - 10st 7lb

Prince De Beauchene, Pearkysteps, Prince de Beauchene 10st 6lb

Roulez Cool, Niche Market, Stewart's House, Sunnyhillboy, Uncle Junior - 10st 5lb

Fair Along, Killyglen, Quiscover Fontaine, Tharawaat - 10st 4lb

State Of Play, Always Waining, Becauseicouldntsee, Le Beau Bai, Swing Bill - 10st 3lb

Postmaster, Shakervilz, The Package, Wymott - 10st 2lb

Backstage, Giles Cross, Hello Bud, In Compliance, Midnight Haze, Northern Alliance, Vic Venturi, Viking Blond - 10st 1lb

Qhilimar - 9st 13lb

Some Target - 9t 10lb

Neptune Equester - 9st 9lb

Any Currency - 9st 8lb

Our Island, Schindler's Gold - 9st 7lb

Abbeybraney, Saddler's Storm, Smoking Aces - 9st 5lb

King Fontaine - 9st 4lb

Another Palm - 9st 3lb

Ballyvesey - 9st 2lb

Minella Theatre - 9st 0lb