'Progressive' chaser the pick of Jack Kennedy as Gordon Elliott fires six at Grand National Trial

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Assessing the Gordon Elliott brigade is the first task when going through this 3m3½f Listed handicap chase given the trainer has taken the prize home in six of the last eight years and is going for an incredible five in a row.

That's a remarkable record for a big-field marathon handicap chase and Elliott saddles six this time with Lucky Lyreen the pick of Jack Kennedy after the pair scored at Down Royal last month.

That could be a key piece of form given there was just a neck between him and the Gavin Cromwell-trained Born Braver, who also takes his chance here, the pair finishing well clear of their rivals.

An 8lb rise makes life tougher for Lucky Lyreen, who reached a mark of 133 over hurdles and is still 6lb below that with just four chase runs under his belt. 

Elliott's Patter Merchant makes his handicap chase debut with his standout effort over fences coming at Fairyhouse in November when he finished a neck behind the useful Flicker Of Hope.

He is tried in cheekpieces, as is stablemate Binge Worthy, who may find this trip a stretch. Cullentra-trained topweight Prends Garde A Toi isn't the most consistent, but he will enjoy the ground and seems well treated on his Naas win in December, while last season's winner Fortunedefortunata needs to step up markedly but has history of popping up with a big win when seemingly out of form.

The Lovely Man is chasing a three-timer for Cromwell having scored over fences at Navan and over hurdles at Gowran Park. He seemed to love the very testing ground last time and could really improve for this trip.

Peter Fahey landed this in 2021 with The Big Dog and runs the nicely treated Koori Star. The eight-year-old has run some solid races over inadequate trips over fences, and based on his runner-up effort at Navan in December over hurdles this is the kind of trip and ground he wants. He's a huge player.

Ney makes each-way appeal for Edward Buckley. He looked progressive when winning twice, including at this track, last season on soft ground before some time on the sidelines. However, he got back on track with a good second here last month and should have more to give.

What they say

Gordon Elliott, trainer of Lucky Lyreen, Prends Garde A Toi, Patter Merchant, Fortunedefortunata, Beaufort Scale and Binge Worthy
Jack Kennedy is on Lucky Lyreen, who showed a good attitude to win at Down Royal. He’s up plenty in the weights but looks progressive over fences. Prends Garde A Toi fell early on at Leopardstown last time but had some good form before that and isn’t without a chance off top weight with Carl Millar taking off 5lb. We’re trying Patter Merchant in cheekpieces and he’d have a shout on his best form. He ran very well at Fairyhouse a couple of starts ago. Fortunedefortunata won this last season but is a lot higher in the weights. Beaufort Scale will enjoy the trip and any drying out of the ground would help. It’s a big step up in trip for Binge Worthy, but he’s in off a nice weight and has an each-way chance.

Gordon Elliott: has won six of the last eight runnings including the last fourCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Gavin Cromwell, trainer of The Lovely Man and Born Braver
The Lovely Man should enjoy the step up in trip and the testing ground. He's up plenty in the weights after his win at Navan, while he won over hurdles at Gowran last time but we're hopeful he can keep going the right way. Born Braver should be fine at the trip and ran well when second at Down Royal. Hopefully he can run a big race.

Peter Fahey, trainer of Koori Star
He's had a couple of nice outings over fences and his last few runs have been over a trip plenty short for him. He has a nice weight and hopefully the step up in trip will see him put his best foot forward. We were tight on time to get runs into him as you need four runs to qualify for this. It's great to have Mark Walsh on board.

Edward Buckley, trainer of Ney
He loves the track and will go on the ground. The tiny question mark is the trip, but he's relaxed in his races and switches off lovely, while he's very good over his fences. He'll handle the ground too, so we're hopeful.

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