Grand National: Cloth Cap favourite; Denise Foster steps in for Gordon Elliott
- Published
Cloth Cap won the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury in November
Cloth Cap is the clear 6-1 favourite for next month's Grand National after a comfortable win at Kelso for jockey Tom Scudamore and trainer Jonjo O'Neill.
The nine-year-old will bid to give owner Trevor Hemmings a record fourth win in the Aintree race on 10 April.
Meanwhile, it was confirmed Denise 'Sneezy' Foster will step in for Gordon Elliott during the Irish trainer's ban.
He was banned for a year, six months of which are suspended, after being pictured sitting astride a dead horse.
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The new arrangement means horses based at the Cullentra stables in County Meath which Elliott owns are set to run under Foster's name at this month's Cheltenham Festival and the Aintree meeting in April.
An initial statement from Elliott's Twitter account on Saturday that said he would be available to "assist" Foster was later deleted.
"Denise is vastly experienced and her appointment is great news for staff and owners," said a second version.
Foster is a former riding instructor who has held a training licence for more than 20 years and worked with top showjumpers earlier in her life. She is known as Sneezy because that is how friends pronounced her name as a child.
Elliott told a disciplinary hearing on Friday that he would not attend a race meeting for six months and that he has "a long road ahead" but will "serve my time and then build back better".
Cloth Cap is named after the favourite headgear of owner Hemmings, who has won the National previously with Hedgehunter (2005), Ballabriggs (2011) and Many Clouds (2015).
The horse, who had been entered in the 2020 race before it was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, won the Premier Chase at Kelso by seven and a half lengths from Aso.
"The plan was to go and win the National last year. We don't mind if it's a year late," said O'Neill, who triumphed with Don't Push It, ridden by AP McCoy, in 2010.