Mangan keen on National pair Jimmy Mangan has set his radar on more Grand National glory - this time with Whinstone Boy and Conna Castle. The County Cork handler won the Aintree showpiece with Monty's Pass in 2003 and is quietly optimistic about his chances this year. Whinstone Boy was impressive at Clonmel earlier this week, having supplemented a Gowran success in January. Mangan said: "It was a good performance, but he is a mudlark and that would be the only thing I'd worry about. "He's definitely not a front-runner and he has no real speed for a relentless gallop on fast ground. "Saying that, he jumps and stays and has all the right ingredients for an Aintree horse. "We'll have a quiet time with him, but if he runs again it could be over hurdles a month before the race." Although Conna Castle finished last in the Tied Cottage Chase on his most recent outing, Mangan is excited by the 11-year-old's Aintree credentials. "I was over the moon with him last Sunday at Punchestown," said the trainer. "He didn't really handle the soft ground, but he flew up the hill. "Andrew McNamara said he'd have won after another two miles - he's a horse with a lot of toe. "The owners are dead keen for him to go to Liverpool and he could well be the dark horse in the race. "He's be entered next Saturday at Gowran, but I'd say that might come too soon."
