Slim Pickings on target for Aintree Tom Taaffe reports Slim Pickings firmly on course for the John Smith´s Grand National following his latest outing at Leopardstown on Sunday. Taaffe was pleased with the nine-year-old´s first run over fences since his third to Silver Birch in the ´National´ last April, finishing fifth behind Well Tutored in the Mick Holly Memorial Handicap Chase over two miles and five furlongs. ´I´m happy with the way Slim Pickings has come out of the Leopardstown race ahead of Aintree and he is very good. I was pleased with the way he ran,´ said Taaffe. ´He will go straight to the National now. He´s not better with cut in the ground - he prefers nice, genuine good ground.´ Paddy Powers have seen good support for Slim Pickings since that run on Sunday, shortening him to 16/1, with spokesman Paddy Power saying, ´Slim Pickings has been backed with us at 25´s and 20´s, and I thought it was a highly creditable effort by him at Leopardstown. ´I would imagine two miles and five furlongs was probably not quite far enough for a horse whose last success came over three miles.´
