Irish trio in Welsh National mix There are three potential Irish challengers for the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow on Saturday. Vics Canvas (Dermot McLoughlin) stands his ground, as do the Mouse Morris-trained Folsom Blue and Patrick Griffin's Portrait King. Chepstow clerk of the course Keith Ottesen is "more than hopeful" the meeting will go ahead at the second attempt. The prestigious fixture had to be abandoned due to waterlogging when originally due to take place on December 27th, but was swiftly rescheduled. The official going at the Monmouthshire circuit remains heavy, but forecasts for the coming days are giving Ottesen reason to be optimistic. He said: "I don't want to speak too soon, but the forecast, at the moment, isn't looking too bad. We're just about raceable as we stand and it looks like an improving situation for the rest of the week. "There's a few tiny showers around and we might get a little rain on Wednesday, but it's forecast to be dry on Thursday and maybe Friday as well. "There's a few showers forecast for Saturday, but, as we stand at the moment, we're more than hopeful we'll be racing. "The forecast for this week is more favourable than it has been for a while, so I want to be positive. Having said that, we all know forecasts can change so I don't want to be categorical." Two past winners, Emperor's Choice and Mountainous, also feature among 33 horses confirmed at the five-day stage. Three of the ante-post market leaders - Jonjo O'Neill's Upswing, the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Cogry and Alan King's Midnight Prayer - are involved as well.
