City On Target For Aintree River City, third in the Arkle Challenge Trophy, is on course for Saturday´s John Smith´s Maghull Novices´ Chase at Aintree. Trainer Noel Chance has confirmed that the eight-year-old will go for the Grade One event on Grand National day, where he could clash with both Contraband and Ashley Brook, who finished ahead of him in the Arkle. 'If he´s alive and I´m alive, he´ll go - although he´s more important!' joked Chance. River City´s outing at Cheltenham was his first since October, when he defeated Martin Pipe´s Contraband over Saturday´s course and distance, and his Lambourn handler reports him to have come on for the race. 'The track is absolutely what he wants, and a little cut in the ground will help him, but not too much,' he said. 'It was an excellent run at Cheltenham as it was really his first run of the season. He has been working well since then, and has been really strengthening and tightening up nicely.' Chance will have a small team of runners at Aintree, with the most notable being Mendo, who is due to contest the John Smith´s Champion Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race. The five-year-old was an impressive winner of his only start at Sandown in February. Chance added: 'Mendo will run in the bumper on Saturday. We missed Cheltenham because of the ground, and he´s been going well at home.' (c) PA Sport
