Evergreen teenager Raz De Maree to bid for back-to-back Welsh Nationals

He may be old enough to sport a pipe and slippers this Christmas but Raz De Maree is not the retiring kind and, on the eve of his 14th birthday, the Gavin Cromwell-trained chaser will bid to win the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow for the second season running.

Second in the race in 2016, Raz De Maree then became the oldest winner of the Welsh National in modern times when taking last season's renewal by six lengths from Alfie Spinner.

Cromwell believes his popular veteran is “made for the race” and is cautiously looking forward to the repeat bid, although he’s unsure whether last year’s winning rider James Bowen will be on board again.

The trainer said: “He’s definitely going to travel and he seems to have all of his old enthusiasm for the game, but he is almost 14 years of age and we do need to take that into account. He’s proven that this is the race which is made for him so hopefully he can run well.”

Welsh Grand National entries

“We’d love for James Bowen to ride him again, but to ask Raz to run off a 2lb higher mark without using a claimer looks a huge ask so I’m not ruling anything out. We’ve a couple of claimers in mind so we’ll just have to wait and see.

“The last meeting over at Chepstow was heavy, and that was only a week ago, so you’d be hopeful that it’ll turn up heavy again for him as that’s the way he wants it,” the trainer added.

A strong Irish challenge looks likely in the race as, alongside Raz De Maree, Gordon Elliott’s Folsom Blue, Dounikos and Monbeg Notorious hold entries, as does Ross O'Sullivan's Baie Des Iles, who finished fifth in the race in 2016.

O'Sullivan reports his charge to have come out of her reappearance run in a Grade 1 at Auteuil in good shape and is looking forward to the battle.

The trainer said: “She seems in great form and she’s going to do a piece of work tomorrow [Wednesday] so it’s all systems go for her.

"She needs heavy ground and, after finishing fifth in the race a couple of years ago we’re hoping she’s a good bit stronger and more mature for the race.

“In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t have gone to France for the Prix la Haye Jousselin last month but she came out of that race well and we’re looking forward to her,” he added.

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