Portrait hoping for Eider repeat Portrait King returns to the scene of his greatest triumph when lining up for Betfred Eider at Newcastle on Saturday. The grey won the race four years ago, when trained by Maurice Phelan, and current handler Pat Griffin is hoping for a repeat from the 11-year-old. Portrait King was sixth in the Welsh National last month after a nightmare journey. Griffin said: "He's recovered from his exertions from running at Chepstow. He was on the lorry for 15 hours and that definitely took the edge off him, but he still ran his heart out. "We've given him plenty of time to recover and he's back to himself again now. He's already travelled over and he's in good form. "He's on the same mark he won the race off before, he has a nice racing weight and we have a good jockey (Brian Hughes), so we're hoping for a big run. "I just hope the ground is not too heavy." He is joined in the field for the four-miler by another Irish raider in Glenquest from Stuart Crawford's yard.
