'He takes some beating over a trip' - Sara Bradstock delighted with Mr Vango but concerned about drying conditions at Chepstow

Click here to add us to your Google preferred sources or find out more here

Sara Bradstock is dreaming of a wet Christmas for mudlark Mr Vango, whom she reckons has "a hell of a chance" in the Coral Welsh Grand National.

The ground on Christmas Eve was described as soft, good to soft in places at Chepstow, where clerk of the course Dai Jones warned that no rain is expected for the next ten days.

And Bradstock fears conditions will dry out for her stayer, who won the Midlands Grand National over four and a quarter miles at Uttoxeter in the spring and failed by just a short head to land the Becher Chase over a mile shorter at Aintree three weeks ago.

The nine-year-old is 7-1 co-second favourite with the sponsors for Saturday's 3m6f race and his trainer said: "We want to run him, but I'm worried about the ground. I've spoken a lot to Dai and nobody knows whether it's going to dry.

"At the moment it's fine. We all know he's at his very best on heavy, but he'll run as long as it's safe for him. It needs to be on the soft side of good to soft."

Declarations are made on Friday for the Welsh National, and Bradstock is full of hope for a chaser who has won three of his last four starts and risen 20lb in the BHA ratings in the process.

"He's in great nick," the trainer said. "He couldn't have run better at Aintree because that was too short for him. He's got a hell of a chance, he takes some beating over a trip, doesn't he?"

'We're in the lap of the gods'

Looking ahead to likely ground conditions for Wales's biggest race, Jones said: "It's not going to get any easier. We're in the lap of the gods — if it stays cloudy, it keeps the moisture in the ground, but if we get sunny intervals, that will dry the top a bit more.

"We have no rain forecast until January 3. It will be one of the rare occasions when we haven't had real soft or heavy ground for the Welsh National." 

Rebecca Curtis is also full of hope for last season's Irish National winner Haiti Couleurs, who has been treated for a joint issue since he was pulled up in the Betfair Chase at Haydock.

"I don't think we've had him better," the trainer said. "His back is good now, and he looks great. He schooled brilliantly this morning."

Coral Welsh Grand National (2.50 Chepstow, Saturday)
Coral: 5 Jubilee Express, 7 Git Maker, Mr Vango, Rock My Way, 8 O'Connell, 9 Haiti Couleurs, 12 bar

Read these next:

'He ticks a lot of boxes' - Joe Tizzard hoping to rock the Welsh Grand National, and it could lead to an Aintree tilt 

Another unusually dry Welsh Grand National not ideal for Sam Thomas - but he wouldn't swap his big-race favourite 'for anyone' 

'He's like a caged bull' - Haiti Couleurs back in rude health and on the Welsh Grand National trail 

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.