Grimthorpe outing over fences suits National ambitions for Twig

Ben Pauling’s Twig will book his spot in the Randox Grand National by running in the Virgin Bet Grimthorpe Handicap Chase at Doncaster on Saturday.

Second to Chianti Classico in the Ultima at Cheltenham last season, he also ran with credit at Aintree afterwards.

With a handicap mark of 146, Pauling was keen to protect that with the National in mind, so he has had three runs over hurdles this season – but he is much better over a fence.

“He’s definitely a better chaser than hurdler and we’d been protecting his mark up until the weights came out to ensure that he didn’t go up,” said Pauling.

“We’ve got to run him in a race this season (over fences) to qualify, so it’s a case of getting him qualified, but he’ll be there to do his best.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how he gets on on ground that will suit him.

“I would think anything like the run which saw him finish second in the Ultima last season would make him hard to beat and he seems to be in very good form at home.”

Twig carries top-weight and next in is White Rhino for the Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero partnership.

He won his first two races over fences this season and was stepped up markedly in class for the Grade One novice at Kempton over Christmas, where he was an early faller in a race won by Pauling’s sidelined The Jukebox Man.

Guerriero said: “It just hasn’t gone quite to plan, as he needed to be placed over three miles over fences to run in the National Hunt Chase and that went out of the window at Kempton, so we’ve had to reroute.

“He’s obviously unexposed over fences, it looks quite an open race on Saturday and he seems in good form, so fingers crossed.

“We’ll run at Doncaster and then we might look at something like the Scottish National.”

Nigel Twiston-Davies runs three, with eldest son Sam choosing to partner Weveallbeencaught over Undersupervision (winner in 2022 and second in 2023) and The Kniphand.

Weveallbeencaught was a promising novice hurdler a few years ago but lost his way. However, after a brief spell with Christian Williams, he returned to Twiston-Davies and was a comfortable course winner last time out.

Assistant trainer Willy Twiston-Davies said: “Weveallbeencaught ran very well at Doncaster last time with Tom Bellamy on.

“The Grimthorpe has good prize-money and if the owners are still keen, we will look at the three-mile-six (National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham), but it’s a bit tight for time and Saturday is probably his Gold Cup.”

Last year’s Scottish National runner-up Surrey Quest runs for Toby Lawes, having most recently been third in the Edinburgh National at Musselburgh.

“It’s a very good race to have a crack at and he’s in very good form going into it,” the trainer told Sky Sports Racing.

“The timing of the race suited him. We ran him at Cheltenham in November and then he unseated in the Mandarin, he was entered a couple of times when racing was abandoned and it just happened that the Edinburgh National was next on the list.

“We decided on that over the Eider, as it gave us the chance to run in the Grimthorpe.

“He’s got a terrific attitude and, to be honest, going right-handed did not suit him last time, he tends to edge left, so he ran a mighty race and stuck at it well under top-weight.

“I couldn’t be happier with the form he’s in at home and he’s at his best on a level, left-handed galloping track like Doncaster and Newbury. He should be bang there off that mark.”