Horse racing: Stamina the key to West Coast’s Grand National four-peat attempt

West Coast has a unique shot at history in the Grand National Steeplechase tomorrow. Photo / Peter Rubery

Mark Oulaghan is hoping the extreme distance of tomorrow’s Racecourse Hotel 150th Grand National Steeplechase will play into the hands of West Coast, as his champion jumper attempts to rewrite the history books at Riccarton.

The adored 10-year-old has won the last three editions of the National, becoming the second horse to claim three titles since Agent in the 19th century, and the first to do so in successive years.

After a top performance to finish second in the Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase, West Coast earned himself a fourth trip to the southern course, where he opened his account with a gritty third in last Saturday’s Koral Steeplechase (4250m), won by hot favourite Jesko.

Oulaghan was pleased with the performance, which was Victorian hoop Willie McCarthy’s first steer aboard the son of Mettre En Jeu.

“It was a good run, he covered a bit of extra ground and probably got going a little bit earlier than would have been ideal, but at the end of it, he was only six lengths off the winner,” Oulaghan said.

“We were pretty happy with it.

“Willie quite liked him and he’s confident that he can improve on Saturday.”

In addition to his National haul, West Coast has two Great Northern Steeplechase (6500m) crowns on the mantelpiece, so the marathon journey is nothing new.

“I think that’s his strong point, once he gets over those longer distances, he just seems to be able to grind it out,” Oulaghan said.

“In the last couple of years, we’ve picked his races and he hasn’t had hard seasons, so I think consequently, he’s been able to carry on a bit longer and focus on these better races.”

The extra kilometre of the Hospitality NZ Canterbury 135th Grand National Hurdles (4200m) will also come to the benefit of his stablemate Berry The Cash, who has been running on late to place in each of the Hawke’s Bay Hurdles (3000m) and Sydenham Hurdles (3100m).

While his older counterpart is shooting for a record four crowns, Berry The Cash will be chasing a three-peat of his own in the hurdle, off the back of a tidy effort behind Dictation in the Sydenham.

“It was a good run by him under the weight and at the distance, so we’re happy with him too,” Oulaghan said.

“He’s a grinding type of horse and finishes it off, so the extra distance is suitable for him. There is a bit of rain forecast for Friday down there, which wouldn’t worry him, while one or two of the others might not be too keen on it.”

While his star pair spend the week in Christchurch, Oulaghan is back at home in Awapuni preparing for an entirely different feature assignment with Jack Morrison.

The son of Darci Brahma has racked up six victories from eight attempts on his local synthetic track and, for the first time, he’ll venture further afield to chase the big prize at Cambridge in the $100,000 TAB Polytrack Championship (2000m).

Oulaghan had been hopeful for Friday’s contest, with Amber Riddell to reduce his impost to a comfortable 58kg, but was less so after seeing Jack Morrison has drawn unfavourably in 11.

“We’ve kept him relatively fresh, he hasn’t had a run for a while and we were hopeful of a good draw up there but that hasn’t quite panned out,” Oulaghan said.

“It is a big help there if they draw well.

“I haven’t spoken to his owner, and I think we’ll still go, but it will certainly make it more difficult from out there. We’ll have to see what happens rather than being overly confident.

“The weight is a bit of a help, I’m surprised it’s actually a claiming race so with Amber on, he gets a couple more kilos off.”

– LOVERACING.NZ News Desk