Time To Get Up out of Grand National after missing qualification deadline

Jonjo O'Neill, a Grand National winner with Don't Push It in 2010, was in philosophical mood on Tuesday when it emerged Time To Get Up – for many a dark horse for this year's Randox-sponsored marathon – was not qualified to run.

Owned, like Don't Push It, by JP McManus, Time To Get Up was a steadily progressive staying chaser last season when he won the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter and he appeared over the National fences when well beaten in the Grand Sefton at Aintree in November.

Horses, however, must have run in at least six chases by Sunday and that outing was the nine-year-old's fifth over fences.

Randox Grand National card and betting (Aintree, Saturday, April 9)

O'Neill hopes to field him this weekend in the William Hill Grand National Trial (2.40) at Haydock and says the horse – whose National odds range from 20-1 to 50-1 – had just not come to hand to have that qualifying run.

He said: "He just wasn't right. Hopefully we'll try to run him at Haydock this week and we would have liked to have got him qualified, but he hasn't come right in time.

"The plan was to go for the Classic Chase at Warwick in January and that would have got him qualified, but he knocked himself. That was the problem, unfortunately, and it's a bit annoying.

"There's nothing you can do about these things. It's just the way life goes. He didn't run great over those fences in the autumn and maybe you'd think he might be a National horse after last season, but that's life. He didn't really like those fences in the Grand Sefton.

"I don't know about the Scottish National or Irish National as he's hard to plan for. He's had his problems and always had them. You can see that if you look at his record – he's had only eight runs and is nine."

Jonjo O'Neill: 'We would have liked to have got him qualified, but he hasn't come right'Credit: Edward Whitaker

The weights for the National will be revealed on Tuesday afternoon and O'Neill might still be represented by Easysland and Cloth Cap, pulled up when 11-2 favourite for the famous contest last year.

"Easysland didn't run too well on his debut for me the other day at Sandown, but Cloth Cap is grand and will either go to Doncaster for the Grimthorpe Chase or for the Listed chase he won at Kelso last year," he added.

"He ran all right for a long way at Ascot before Christmas. He ran okay and did refuse to jump the last but had hurt himself."

Randox Grand National (April 9)

William Hill: 16 Any Second Now, Galvin, Snow Leopardess, 20 Run Wild Fred, Secret Reprieve, Longhouse Poet, Conflated, 25 Farclas, Minella Times, Escaria Ten, Mount Ida, Phoenix Way, Fiddlerontheroof, Franco De Port, Chantry House, 33 bar including Tiger Roll

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