2008 Grand National Entries

The 2008 Grand National entries amount to a massive 150 which is the the second-highest in recent times. The 2008 John Smith’s Grand National will be worth a record £800,000, takes place at Aintree on Saturday, April 5. Ireland has won six of the last nine renewals of the John Smith’s Grand National and there is a massive Irish entry of 38 in 2008, which equals the record set in 2006. Six entries hail from France.

The two trainers with the highest number of entries are David Pipe and Peter Bowen, who both have 11 contenders engaged. Peter Bowen is looking forward to running last year’s fast-finishing runner-up McKelvey and the Pembrokeshire-based handler is hopeful that his star chaser will run another big race over the famous Aintree fences. Bowen commented today: "McKelvey is in good form and he will probably have a spin over hurdles at the beginning of March. Ideally, I would like to get two runs over hurdles into him before the John Smith’s Grand National. "He is about nine pounds higher over fences than when he finished second in the race last year, so he will have his first chase start this season at Aintree in April. "He has come back from his tendon injury well and he looks as good as he has ever been, so we are hopeful of another good run at Aintree in April again this year." Bowen’s other entries include Ballycassidy, who was badly hampered when challenging for the lead at Becher’s on the second circuit in last year’s John Smith’s Grand National, as well as last season’s John Smith’s Topham Chase winner Dunbrody Millar.

Bowen has also entered unexposed chaser Blue Splash, Always Waining, Irish Wolf, Iron Man, Mr Ed, Lankawi, Tommy Spar and 2005 totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Take The Stand. If successful in 2008, Bowen will become only the second Welsh-based trainer to capture the John Smith’s Grand National - the only previous Welsh victory was Kirkland in 1905. David Pipe, whose father Martin trained the 1994 winner Miinnehoma and saddled a record 10 runners in 2001, has made entries for Celestial Gold, successful in the Grade Two John Smith’s Bowl at Aintree in 2006, Hennessy Gold Cup fourth Madison du Berlais, the smart Vodka Bleu, winner of his last two starts, Joacci, Over The Creek, Milan Deux Mille, Comply Or Die, Whispered Secret, Not Left Yet and Sixo.

5 Previous Articles

Paul Nicholls Grand National Team	30 Jan 2008
Irish 2008 Grand National Entries	30 Jan 2008
Backing a Grand National Outsider	22 Jan 2008
Bewleys Berry Grand National Odds	22 Jan 2008
Philson Run on target for Aintree Grand National	15 Jan 2008