Racing Irish Grand National preview: Dermot Weld's primary focus might be on the upcoming classics but in Direct Bearing he might just have the material with which to pick up today's Powers Gold Label Irish Grand National.
It's 16 years since Perris Valley won the Easter Monday highlight for Weld. The champion trainer also secured a second placing with Pillar Brae in 1981. It's no bad record for someone who has had just a handful of National runners over the years and because of that Direct Bearing's presence alone looks significant.
Mind you, on the face of it, a seven-year-old novice with just four runs over fences in his career is not an obvious candidate to take on 29 opponents over this testing course and distance in one of the handicap highlights of the year.
But Direct Bearing is no callow youth amongst men. Battle hardened from the flat and with a rating in the 90s, he will lack for nothing when it comes to a cotest of class and grit.
"I think he has more than enough weight for a novice and he lacks jumping experience but I think he still has to have a big shot," Weld acknowledged yesterday.
"The negatives are his inexperience and the weight but the positives are that he is in great form, he's rated a 90 on the flat so he has proven ability and he has a very good man aboard in Barry Geraghty," he added.
The flat programme at Cork today means Weld is likely to miss out on the action at Fairyhouse but the sole chaser in his yard could make life very difficult for the rest.
They are headed at the top of the weights by the English raider Artic Jack who is on a retrieval mission after falling at the first at Aintree. No cross-channel raider has won the €180,000 pot since Mudahim seven years ago and 12st looks too much for even this classy type to bridge the gap.
The bridge facing last year's winner Timbera is a 7lb higher handicap mark and a less than ideal preparation. Ruled out of Aintree due to a lung infection, he has had a week on the sidelines but trainer Dessie Hughes is not willing to use that as an excuse if Timbera fails to double up in the footsteps of Brown Lad (1975-76).
"The hiccup came at the wrong time for Aintree but it means we have a fresh horse for Fairyhouse. It's never easy to win one National, let alone two, but he goes there with every chance," he said.
This time Timbera is a "name" to be shot at for potential "lurkers" further down the handicap and there are any number of them.
Tony Martin, who won with Davids Lad three years ago, runs both Xenophon and Ross Moff. Xenophon was briefly clear ante-post favourite for this with some firms but the lack of fluency during his chasing career to date has contributed to his odds easing in recent days.
Kadoun has the responsibility of carrying JP McManus's hopes for a first National victory in 21 years but might prefer the better ground to this while the dour staying Hume Castle has an unfortunate tendency to throw in a poor jump at times.
The three-time winner Michael O'Brien also has Bennie's Pride in addition to Kadoun but it looks a decent each-way bet that the specialist jumps boys may have to concede one of the most important prizes of the season to Dermot Weld's Direct Bearing.
The National dominates the Fairyhouse card but there will be no shortage of punters hanging around after the big race with their eyes firmly fixed on Blue Away's chance in the two-and-three-quarter-mile handicap hurdle.
The Pat Hughes-trained horse made his first start of 2004 in a flat handicap at Leopardstown and was running on well behind the all-the-way winner High Day.
That should have put him spot on for this task, the trip is ideal, the ground should be fine and there appear to be a lot more positives than negatives about his chance in this.
Dawn Invasion ran a blinder behind Brian Boru in the Alleged Stakes and reverts to hurdles today in a hot looking Betdaq Hurdle.
Ordinarily Dawn Invasion's claims might stand out but Scarthy Lad usually goes well fresh and boasts a 137 rating.
