James Moffat expressed his excitement to the local Cumbrian media yesterday, as he prepares Highland Lodge for a tilt at the Grand National at the Aintree festival.
It was quite a turn up for the books when 20/1 shot, Highland Lodge scaled the Grand National fences and bolted home to win the 2015 Becher Chase. Not many onlookers will have been as shocked by this victory as trainer James Moffatt, who only purchased the eleven-year-old from Emma Lavelle less than a month before his storming victory at Aintree.
Despite that victory, he missed out on a spot in the Grand National last spring and Moffatt set his charges sights on retaining their Becher Chase title at the beginning of this new campaign. The defending champion had every chance of winning again coming over the last, but Vieux Lion Rouge sneaked through on the inside to snatch a second Becher Chase title from under Highland Lodge’s nose.
Every cloud has a silver lining and, although he failed in his bid to retain his title, that excellent performance saw Highland Lodge seal his spot in the 2017 Grand National. Moffatt has kept his charge under lock-and-key since that autumn Aintree outing, but he discussed his excitement with the local media yesterday afternoon as the Grand National looms large on the horizon.
“It’s all very exciting. It’s exciting for my whole team. We’re delighted.” Said Moffatt, when speaking to the North-West Evening Mail at his Cartmel stables in Cumbria.
“Now we’re in, we have to get him there in one piece,” said Moffatt, “That brings a whole new set of challenges, because we have to work him very hard and keep him bright and fresh.
Although Moffatt has prepared a horse for the Grand National before – Chief Dan George was the final finisher in the 2011 National, a year after winning the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival – it’s always good to gain an extra slice of knowledge from your illustrious peers.
“You want to protect them now. The horses who run better when they are fresh, you don’t want to spoil that by running them before. I was speaking to David Pipe the other day about Vieux Lion Rouge (the current ante-post favourite) and he is doing the same thing, keeping him fresh. Gordon Elliott is doing the same as well.”
Highland Lodge hadn’t won for three years before landing that surprise Becher Chase title last season. It’s clear he’s tailor-made for the Aintree and there can’t have been many debutants over the last decade who boast as much good form over the National fences as he does.
He’s got the experience and he certainly has the talent, so it’s easy to see why James Moffatt fancied Highland Lodge’s chances of doing the North-West proud and running another huge race at Aintree on Saturday 8th April
“It’s a relief that we get in, but at the same time we know there is a lot of work to do between now and then. We’ve got to get him right now, and there is the pressure that goes with that.
“We’d rather have that pressure than the pressure of horses who are maybe not so good and aren’t in races like this. It’s a great pressure to have. (Aintree) brings out the best in him. It’s very exciting – to have a horse from South Cumbria going for the National, we hope everyone gets behind him and supports us.”
