Val Dancer needs plenty of rain to be seen again this season

Late April and even May showers will be needed if Val Dancer is to run again this term following his scuppered Irish Grand National bid.

The eight-year-old won the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow shortly after Christmas and as a fan of soft ground, connections were on weather watch with regards to his trip to Fairyhouse.

The eventual rainfall was so significant that the first day of the meeting was cancelled and eventually rescheduled, but it was not the weather that stood in Val Dancer’s way in the end.

At the declaration stage, Mel Rowley’s gelding was balloted out, meaning a swift U-turn of the lorry ahead of the ferry crossing and a return to the drawing board for connections.

Ireland remains under consideration as there is a race at Punchestown that may be suitable, but again soft ground will be required if he is to run.

“He was on his way, he got as far as Rhyl and then he got balloted out, so sadly he didn’t make the trip,” Rowley explained.

“We were gutted, absolutely gutted. He’s very well and ready to run, it’s just a case of finding somewhere before everything winds down for the summer.

“He needs the sort of ground they had in Ireland, it’s such a shame he got balloted out at declarations and then that was the end of that.

“There is a chance, depending on the ground, that he could go to Punchestown for a handicap (on Saturday), but that would require a lot of rain.

“It would be really nice for him to run again before the end of the season, but at the end of the day, if he doesn’t, he has still surpassed all of our expectations for the year and we’ve got a really nice horse for next season.

“Hopefully there’ll be a downpour somewhere, we’ll keep our fingers crossed!”