No defections from National field There were no defections at the final cut off point (9am) this morning from the 40 runners declared yesterday for the John Smith's Grand National, so the four reserves Always Waining, Faasel, Le Beau Bai and Giles Cross will not get a run. Last year's winner Don't Push It heads the weights with Tony McCoy again in the saddle, while favourite The Midnight Club is ridden by Ruby Walsh and heads a strong team of 12 Irish-trained runners. Oscar Time, the mount of Gold Cup winning rider Sam Waley-Cohen, and the Gordon Elliott's Backstage are other Irish-trained runners which feature prominently in the betting. The ground is currently good to soft on the Grand National course but the weather is set fair and temperatures today are set to rise close to 20C.
