Taaffe hoping for same again with Slim Tom Taaffe hopes last year´s third Slim Pickings is blessed with similar luck in-running in his bid to go two places better in the John Smith´s Grand National. The nine-year-old ran a tremendous race to take minor honours behind Silver Birch and McKelvey 12 months ago and has enjoyed a good build-up this time round. "His preparation has gone well and we just hope he has as much luck in-running as he had last year," said the County Kildare trainer. "It´s a Grand National and anything can happen so we´re just hoping we runs a nice race." Slim Pickings is an 11-1 chance with bookmakers Paddy Power, while stablemate Tumbling Dice is a big outsider at 100-1. "We thought he might make a National horse," Taaffe said of Tumbling Dice. "He jumps the fences quite well at home and he´s in there with a sporting chance, like they all are." Tony McCoy bids to make it 13th-time lucky in the National when he gets the leg-up on the Jonjo O´Neill-trained Butler´s Cabin. And despite the presence of a number of other JP McManus-owned runners, notably King Johns Castle, McCoy insisted it was not a hard decision to plump for last year´s Irish Grand National and Cheltenham Festival winner. "It wasn´t a tough choice to ride him, but I´ve picked the wrong one a few times before," said McCoy, who is the retained rider for legendary gambler McManus. "He´s won an Irish National and the four-miler at Cheltenham so you´d have to think that there´s not much of a question mark from a staying point of view. "I just thought this one has more potential of winning a Grand National than JP´s other entries."
