George hoping God's Own can deliver a celestial performance

The durable two-and-a-half-mile chaser heads to Merseyside after finishing fifth in Cheltenham’s Queen Mother Champion Chase following two bad mistakes.

“He is A1. He has come out of Cheltenham very well. He is spot on. He is fresh and we have had to step his work up a bit,” said George.

“Last year was the same, we have to step it all up after Cheltenham as that meeting always lights him up a bit. Anyway he is fine.

“His race was lost at the top of the hill. Okay, he made a mistake at the second last, but what happened at the top of the hill was the costly error.

“He has done it a few times around Cheltenham and you can’t do that in a Champion Chase.”

Fox Norton was second in that race and was closing in on Special Tiara with every stride.

He was beaten just a head at the line and trainer Colin Tizzard believes the step up in trip will be an advantage as Fox Norton tries to give Robbie Power a big success in his new role as retained rider for Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning owner Alan Potts, who hails from Barnsley, and his wife Ann.

Tizzard said: “I think the step up in trip will be an advantage.

“We very nearly ran him in the Ryanair at Cheltenham and this should be an ideal race for him.

“We hope the course will suit him, but he is a good horse.”

Meanwhile Dr Richard Newland expects drying to ground to help Seefood in his bid to give him another notable victory over the Grand National fences in the Randox Health Topham Handicap Chase.

Having saddled Pineau De Re to victory in the National in 2014 the Claines handler is hoping the 10-year-old can go one better over the famous fences than he did in the Grand Sefton in December.

He said: “Seefood is in really good form and has been trained with this race in mind. Hopefully the drying ground will help him out. The run at Doncaster will have brought him on and it is good to have Richard Johnson on board. Although it is a tough race to win, hopefully he will run well.”

Yorkshire hopes rests with Sue Smith’s Straidnahanna as jockey Danny Cook prepares to ride National favourite Definitly Red in tomorrow’s big race.

Also of note is Lucinda Russell’s Imjoeking – jockey Derek Fox was particularly bullish about this horse’s chances after being passed fit by Malton’s Jack Berry House on Monday to resume riding.

Unowwhatimeanharry will be aimed at the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival after swerving an outing in the Stayers Hurdle tomorrow.

Connections of the Harry Fry-trained nine-year-old opted to bypass the three-mile Grade One on account of the drying ground.

The JP McManus-owned gelding tasted his first defeat since joining the Seaborough handler when finishing third in last month’s Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham to Nichols Canyon. Conditions should suit the Warren Greatrex-trained Cole Harden if Gavin Sheehan’s mount is back to his best.