Grand National trio on right road to Aintree, but not The Package
Published:Punters fancying Junior, Treacle or Always Right for the Grand National should be pleased with the progress their fancies are making, but optimism is not so high regarding The Package.
Junior is the second favourite in the Grand National odds at 10/1 and ran creditably at Doncaster earlier this month when losing by a short head in what was his first start over fences for a year.
He was conceding weight that day and trainer David Pipe is pleased with the work the horse has done since.
Treacle is a 16/1 shot to win the Grand National and has been schooling well over fences at home since running encouragingly to finish third in the Irish Hennessy Gold Cup in February.
Trainer Tom Taaffe is happy with the progress and has also confirmed that Andrew Lynch will take the ride on the 11-year-old.
Always Right is the biggest price of the trio at 33/1 and this could be because the horse has had to be pulled up on his last two starts.
However, a soft palate operation has been carried out since, which is expected to have a positive impression.
Furthermore, owner John Wade is sure that the operation has not put the horse back in any work it has done at home.
But things are not progressing so smoothly everywhere, as Pipe has revealed that The Package is recovering slower than expected from an appearance at the Cheltenham Festival.
The Package finished fourth in the JLT Speciality Chase in what was his first start for 16 months and the trainer insists punters should wait for further developments before backing the horse.
It is currently 40/1 that The Package wins at Aintree, which would go some way to repaying punters who backed him when favourite in the Grand National odds in 2010 when he failed to complete.
