Richards aims team at Aintree Nicky Richards is targeting some of his big guns at Aintree's Crabbie's Grand National meeting next month. Eduard could step up to three miles for the first time in the Betfred Bowl after finishing fourth to Uxizandre in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham. The Melling Chase over two a half miles is Simply Ned's likely objective following his fifth in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, while G lingerburn may put his 100 per cent record over hurdles on the line in the Aintree Top Novices' Hurdle over an extended two miles. Richards feels Eduard is bred to stay three miles, and said: "He seems all right. We haven't done a lot with him. "I thought he ran a nice race at Cheltenham. If he'd have jumped the last well he may have finished third, but he ran a good race. It was the first time he'd been in that deep. "Hopefully if he's OK he'll go to Aintree, but he'll tell us if he's ready. "If he runs again this season, I imagine we'd step him up to three miles for the Betfred Bowl. "He's bred to get three miles. He's closely related to Monty's Pass and Harbour Pilot, so I'd be hopeful he'd get three miles. He has a fantastic pedigree." Simply Ned could tackle two and a half miles for the first time over fences at a course where he took second place in the Grade One Maghull Novices' Chase last spring. "He ran a good, solid race in the Queen Mother. He hit the fourth-last and just got shuffled back a bit from there," said Richards. "If he runs at Aintree it will be in the two-and-a-half-mile chase, the Melling. That's his race and our thinking at the moment. "There's a two-mile chase at Ayr, a handicap, but I wouldn't have thought he'd go for that." Richards is hoping for suitable ground on Merseyside for his exciting seven-year-old Glingerburn, who took his unbeaten record over jumps to four in the Grade Two Premier Kelso Hurdle at the Borders venue last month. "He's a grand horse and he's done nothing wrong," he said. "We'll see what the ground is like and all being well, if it's nice ground, he'll run in the two-mile novice hurdle."
