'It all seems to be coming together' - drying ground a plus for Lord Lariat's repeat Irish National bid

Dermot McLoughlin is set to bid for a slice of history on Easter Monday when he aims to become the first trainer since Jim Dreaper 47 years ago to win three Irish Grand Nationals in a row.

Last year's winner Lord Lariat returns to the scene of his greatest triumph off a 9lb higher mark, having ran on three occasions since, and McLoughlin has been pleased with how preparations have gone.

McLoughlin, who trains less than five miles away from the track, said: "He seems in very good form. The ground was a bit of a concern for him during the week but it seems nice and dry now so it all seems to be coming together. Fairyhouse seems to be the place for him, he seems to love it there.

"I was delighted with him last time at Leopardstown and he would have come on plenty for that. It was great to get him out as we didn’t want to be running him on heavy ground over the winter." 

Lord Lariat: 40-1 winner last yearCredit: Patrick McCann

McLoughlin saddled 150-1 shot Freewheelin Dylan to win the race in 2021 in what could be the first leg of a phenomenal treble if Lord Lariat can repeat last year's success on Monday.

He said: "It’s such a competitive race so it's surreal to be going for three wins in a row. It’s all about having that bit of luck on the day and thankfully we have had that on our side and hopefully we can keep it going now."

Fairyhouse's manager Peter Roe reported the ground to be soft on the chase track and soft, yielding to soft in places on the hurdles course on Friday and he predicts little change this weekend.

Roe said: "We're delighted with the fields and the racing looks the part. We’re expecting it to be mainly dry until Sunday night where we are looking at 8-10mm, so we don’t see a significant change in going conditions."

Roe also explained the move to 48-hour declarations: "There were requests from trainers to change the declarations back to 48 hours so we said we would see how it goes. The reserves declarations is at 24 hours so on Sunday 10am, the final field for the National will be put in place."

BoyleSports Irish Grand National (5.00 Fairyhouse, April 10)

BoyleSports: 7 Thedevilscoachman, 10 Panda Boy, Lord Lariat, Stumptown, 12 Angels Dawn, 14 Chemical Energy, Espanito Bello, I Am Maximus, Tenzing, 16 Amirite, Now Where Or When, Gevrey, 20 bar

Read more . . .

'He needs the ground to dry up an awful lot' - six-horse trainer hoping the sun shines ahead of Irish National bid   

Felix de Giles booked for Roi Mage in Grand National as James Reveley loses race to be fit   

Tom Segal and Paul Kealy had 10-1 and 9-1 winners last Saturday - get their tips and much more with 50% off Members' Club Ultimate Monthly  

Do you want £200+ of free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.