Herefordshire Home To Grand National Favourite

Herefordshire is home to the new favourite for this year's Grand National.

Nil Desperandum - trained by Venetia Williams at Kings Caple - was hoisted to the top of the ante-post market for Aintree after a fantastic victory in the totesport Eider Chase at Newcastle Racecourse.

It was a simply superb staying performance from the 10-year-old in the heaviest of ground that had been waterlogged just a few days earlier.

The Eider Chase was a right test, over more than four miles and one furlong, and everything now looks set fair for the horse to improve on his sixth and fourth places in the Grand National in 2005 and 2006. Tom Scudamore, grandson of Herefordshire trainer Michael, will be the jockey.

But before all that, there's the little matter of the Cheltenham Festival in a fortnight's time. No decision has yet been taken on whether or not Nil Desperandum will run in the Gold Cup on his way to Aintree.

On Monday, at Hereford Racecourse's next fixture, a free "Festival Fever" Cheltenham preview will be held in the Winning Post pub before racing starts.

Hereford Racecourse stage four races over hurdles and three steeplechases, including a hunters' chase, on Monday. The Julian Graves Novices' Hunters' Chase is one of our amateur races that always attract good entries from point-to-point training yards in and around Herefordshire. Last year, the corresponding race was won by Abbey Days, from Steve Flook's stables at Shobdon.

Venetia Williams' horses continue in the finest of form - another winner was Never So Blue at Plumpton Racecourse on Monday under conditional rider Liam Treadwell - and that's reflected in 42 current entries for Cheltenham.

Byton's Richard Lee put a quiet February behind us with two winners towards the end of the month in Mister Potter and Henry's Pride, the former being an entry for the Coral Cup at the festival.