68 Remain In John Smith's Grand National

All of the leading contenders for Saturday's John Smith's Grand National at Aintree remained in at today's five-day confirmation stage, with 68 horses going forward.

The top 40 in the weights after the final declaration stage at 10am on Thursday, April 12 will get the chance to run in the #700,000 event over four and a half miles and 30 famous fences at 4.15pm on Saturday, April 14.

Betfair, the official betting partner of the John Smith's Grand National meeting, offers 10-1 Point Barrow, 12-1 Dun Doire, Joes Edge, 14-1 Numbersixvalverde, 17-1 Idle Talk, 18-1 Hedgehunter, Eurotrek, L´Ami, 19-1 Simon, 25-1 Longshanks, Billyvoddan, 27-1 McKelvey, 28-1 Liberthine, 29-1 Bewley´s Berry, 31-1 Monkerhostin, 33-1 Bothar Na.

Numbersixvalverde and Hedgehunter were first and second in last year' s renewal of the John Smith's Grand National and they are both due to line up again.

The former bids to follow up on last year's famous victory for County Kildare-based Martin Brassil off an 11lb higher mark.

He finished a close-up fourth in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse on February 25, with fellow Grand National hopefuls Homer Wells, Jack High and Point Barrow just ahead,

That was Numbersixvalverde's first outing over fences since his tremendous Aintree success, as he had two hurdle runs earlier this season. He is aiming to be the first horse since Red Rum in 1974 to win two Grand Nationals.

Hedgehunter almost managed back-to-back John Smith's Grand National victories, having captured the 2005 running by 14 lengths from Royal Auclair. He was beaten six lengths last year under top-weight and will again give weight all round off 11st 12lb.

Willie Mullins's charge is another hopeful from across the Irish Sea to have been prepared over hurdles, going down by 30 lengths over an inadequate two miles at Limerick on the first day of this month.

Another leading Irish-trained contender, Dun Doire, who is based with Tony Martin in County Meath, warmed up for his Liverpool engagement by justifying even money favouritism at Down Royal last month after two runs over hurdles.

The Pat Hughes-trained Point Barrow, also prominent in the betting, completed his build-up with third in a handicap hurdle at Navan in March.

Joes Edge, trained by Ferdy Murphy in Yorkshire, heads the home challenge after defying odds of 50-1 in the William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March. The 10-year-old has been very well backed recently and races off the handy weight of 10st 2lb.

He is number 42 in the weights after today's confirmation stage and therefore needs two to drop out. Joes Edge was successful in the Gala Casinos Daily Record Scottish Grand National in 2005.

France' s Francois Doumen runs L' Ami , who will have the assistance of Tony McCoy in the saddle as the perennial champion jockey aims to win the world's most famous chase for a first time.

The eight-year-old ran a great race in defeat when the neck runner-up to Kauto Star in the AON Chase at Newbury in February, before finishing seventh to the same rival in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup last month.

Eurotrek has been kept fresh deliberately by champion trainer Paul Nicholls after his tremendous eight-length victory over Bewleys Berry here in the totesport.com Becher Handicap Chase over the Grand National fences at Aintree in November.

Owner Trevor Hemmings has a strong hand, as besides Hedgehunter, his possible contenders include Billyvoddan who put up a fine effort at the Cheltenham Festival when just over half a length third to Taranis in the Ryanair Chase. Hemmings also owns Armaturk and Idle Talk.

A victory for Simon would lead to emotional scenes as he is trained by John Spearing for Mercy Rimell, whose late husband Fred shares the accolade together with Mr Aintree, Ginger McCain, of having won the John Smith's Grand National four times.

Simon has been a revelation this season, winning well on his last two outings in the Sky Bet Chase at Southwell in January and the Racing Post Chase at Kempton the following month.

Gallant Approach will run on Saturday if the going remains at good.

Trainer Charlie Egerton said today about the eight-year-old: 'He´s a maturing horse, a stayer with the speed too when he needs it. He won well at Newbury in November and then I may have bought him out a bit soon when he finished only third at Haydock behind Kandjar D´Allier in the Tommy Whittle Chase. The ground was bad that day, so it could have been the going that beat him.

'The plan was always to go to Aintree, so we gave him a rest then. When he came back at Cheltenham, he ran a decent race behind Joes Edge and was there till three out. Good ground at Aintree would be fine, but we wouldn´t want to run him on anything quicker.'

Charles Barnett, Aintree's Managing Director, commented today: 'Today's confirmation stage for the John Smith's Grand National sees all the leading contenders stand their ground.

'I am rather hoping that one more horse comes out as my chairman's son, Thomas Greenall, is scheduled to ride Sonevafushi and that horse is number 41 in the handicap!'

The ground is currently Good, with regular watering to maintain this going.

Andrew Tulloch, Aintree's clerk of the course, explained today: 'We started our watering programme in good time and have been putting on between four and 10 millimetres daily for two weeks.

'We alternate each day between the Grand National course and the Mildmay course so both have had plenty of water drawn from our own boreholes.

'The Grand National course has lovely jumping ground and, according to the going stick, is slightly easier at the moment than the Mildmay course.'

Great Supporting Programme On Saturday

The John Smith´s Grand National takes pride of place on Saturday at Aintree, but there are also six other excellent races.

The #160,000 Baltika Beer Aintree Hurdle (2.50pm) and the #125,000 John Smith´s Maghull Novices´ Chase (2.15pm), both Grade One contests, have attracted 17 and 10 entries today.

The former features Detroit City, trained by Philip Hobbs, and the David Pipe-trained Gaspara, who endured mixed fortunes when they appeared at the Cheltenham Festival last month.

Detroit City went into the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle having won his previous eight races including the totesport Cesarewitch on the Flat and the boylesports.com International Hurdle at Cheltenham. However, the 6-4 favourite was never travelling and came home a disappointing sixth behind Sublimity.

In contrast, Gaspara gave the Pipe family a tremendous success when winning the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices´ Handicap Hurdle. As well as being David Pipe´s first Festival success, the winning four-year-old landed a #75,000 bonus as she had also scored in the Sunderlands Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle for owner Martin Pipe, a multiple champion trainer before his retirement nearly 12 months ago.

Black Jack Ketchum, a five-length winner of last year´s Citroen C6 Sefton Novices´ Hurdle here, is also entered in the Baltika Beer Aintree Hurdle, but trainer Jonjo O´Neill has indicated that he is more likely to run in Thursday´s opening John Smith´s Liverpool Hurdle.

The potential Baltika Beer Aintree Hurdle line-up includes the Tom Mullins-trained Asian Maze, who has won at the John Smith´s Festival for the last two seasons including in this race last year when she defeated dual Champion Hurdle winner Hardy Eustace by 17 lengths.

Other possibles include Ladbroke Handicap Hurdle winner Acambo, also trained by Pipe, the Nicky Henderson-trained Afsoun, who was third in the Champion Hurdle, and four other Irish hopes in Al Eile, Jazz Messenger, Silent Oscar and Strangely Brown.

The John Smith´s Maghull Novices´ Chase provides the Hobbs-trained Fair Along, Jack The Giant, trained by Nicky Henderson, and Nicky Richards´s Faasel, who finished second, third and fourth behind My Way De Solzen in the Irish Independent Arkle Chase at Cheltenham, with another opportunity to secure a major prize.

O´Neill´s Don´t Push It and the Paul Nicholls-trained Twist Magic were also going well and disputing third place when they both fell two from home in that championship event.

Other contenders who ran in the Arkle are Pipe´s Buena Vista, who was sixth, and the Howard Johnson-trained Lennon, who finished seventh but must have a chance as he is a dual scorer over fences at Aintree, where his victories include a 14 length win over Penzance in the Listed intercasino.co.uk Molyneux Novices´ Chase in October.

The possible John Smith´s Maghull Novices´ Chase field is completed by Irish challenger Rights Of Man, trained by Davy Fitzgerald, the Steve Gollings-trained Royal Shakespeare, who won the John Smith´s Imagine Appeal Top Novices´ Hurdle at Aintree in 2004, and Nick Gifford´s Killaghy Castle.

Saturday´s opening John Smith´s Extra Smooth Handicap Hurdle (1.45pm) attracted 48 entries, the John Smith´s Extra Cold Handicap Hurdle (3.25pm) received an entry of 60, the John Smith´s Novices´ Handicap Chase (5pm) has 33 possibles, and the concluding John Smith´s Champion Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race (5.35pm) has 34 entered.