Quinn builds for test of Character

A creditable seventh last year under Nina Carberry, the Malton trainer wants to put his injury-plagued stable star through his paces before the April 9 endurance test.

“He will definitely have a run before the National,” said Quinn.

“On the face of it, he ran fairly well in last year’s National.

“He had a run over hurdles and then ran at Cheltenham in the Festival Trophy when they were just too good and too quick for him. He only had the two runs because he had an interrupted prep, so he is certainly in better shape this year.

“He ran really well first time at Aintree and then disappointed at Cheltenham. He then put up a good effort to be fifth in a competitive handicap at Cheltenham in January.

“We sent him to Ffos Las last time for the good ground but unfortunately it teemed down with rain on the Friday night and Saturday morning, so the ground ended up being too soft. He still didn’t run too badly – he finished sixth and it was a competitive chase.

“He has run okay this year. He goes on good to soft or soft ground but when it gets very soft or heavy, he’s not as good. The ground is important.”

Character Building is bidding to become only the third grey to win the Grand National since The Lamb (1868 and 1871) and Nicolaus Silver in 1961.

In normal circumstances, Character Building would be an intriguing entry in today’s veterans’ handicap chase at Doncaster featuring the Malcolm Jefferson-trained Brooklyn Brownie – a second fence Aintree faller two years ago – and Keith Reveley’s Rambling Minster who was pulled up in the same race when backed into favouritism.

However, Wogan appears to be the horse to beat in a race won 12 months ago by Chief Dan George three weeks before prevailing at the Cheltenham Festival and beating, among others, Character Building.

It is hard to believe that Nicky Henderson’s stalwart – named in honour of the radio presenter Terry Wogan – qualifies. At the age of 11, he has had just 16 career starts. But Wogan has won twice on Town Moor – most recently the 2010 Grimthorpe Chase – and is a personal favourite of Malton-born jockey Andrew Tinkler, who has five rides for the in-form Henderson stable, including The Queen’s Pipe Banner.

The performance of the Tim Vaughan-trained Beshabar, owned by professional gambler Harry Findlay’s mother Maggie, will determine the promising novice chaser’s Cheltenham Festival target.

The 85 entries contrast with the moderate fields at Wetherby yesterday – there were just 58 declarations after six leading Yorkshire trainers boycotted the meeting over prize money.

A lacklustre card saw Donald McCain’s Ebanour produce a performance of promise in the Bumper and the doughty Southern raider Pak Jack exploit the absence of local horses to win for the first time in six years.

As Yorkshire’s trainers consider whether to run horses next Monday at Catterick, where all seven races fail to meet the prize money criteria down set by the Horsemen’s Group, they will have noted that Musselburgh is the latest venue to receive the Racecourse Owners’ Association’s gold standard.

The Scottish venue joins 16 other recipients of the award which is reviewed annually and reflects the overall raceday experience, including prize money.

Doncaster, Pontefract and York are the local tracks that meet this ROA criterion.

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