Barrow set for Haydock test Pat Hughes is hoping Point Barrow can boost his claims for the John Smith´s Grand National with a good performance in Saturday´s Red Square Vodka Gold Cup at Haydock. The 2006 Irish Grand National winner was a first-fence casualty at Aintree last April but has been coming to hand steadily this term as he bids to put the record straight this spring. The 10-year-old gelding was a gallant fourth in the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park last month in testing conditions. "Point Barrow has come out of his run in the Thyestes Chase really well and he showed some real ability under top weight on that occasion," said Hughes. "He´ll love good to soft ground on Saturday. He always runs a decent race on faster ground in the spring but I think he´s slightly better with a bit of cut under him. "He sported blinkers for the first time at Gowran Park and they seemed to help him lay up early on in the race, so he will be wearing them again on Saturday. "This will be his last run before going to Aintree for the Grand National in April. "He´s fit, well and has always been a horse for the second half of the season, so I´m hopeful for a good show on Saturday." Pat Fahy´s Nuaffe in 1995 is the only Irish-trained winner of the Haydock marathon while Arthur Moore´s King Johns Castle, runner-up in the Pierse Handicap Chase at Leopardstown, is the other potential challenger from across the water.
