Turf topics: Murphy in plea for Cerium to be given one more crack at National

A rank 500-1 outsider in the days leading up to the National, many so-called pundits even questioned the wisdom of Paul Murphy's chaser even taking on Aintree's 30 daunting obstacles. He would just get in the way, they argued lamely.

Yet Murphy had no doubts. He told his friends to back Cerium with those bookmakers who paid out if their horse was in the first five after the four-and-a-half-mile marathon.

And he was vindicated.

Even though Cerium was kicked in the head by a stray hoof while jumping the water fence – one of the more innocuous fences – and suffered a hairline skull fracture, he ran on gamely to finish fifth, just 18 or so lengths behind the winner and in the slipstream of the Ruby Walsh-ridden My Will, one of the favourites, who was ultimately third.

It was an astonishing performance from a horse which only made the 40-runner cut because of the handicap rating that he had received a couple of years previously while at the all-conquering yard of champion trainer Paul Nicholls. He subsequently lost his form completely and was sold at Doncaster's sales.

Murphy's challenge now is an even more formidable one; he is trying to persuade racing's handicapper to allow Cerium one more crack at the National following a whole year in North Yorkshire where the bay gelding has clearly blossomed on the moors around Middleham, and with the road work which is now an essential part of his training routine.

In short, the young trainer believes it is incumbent upon Phil Smith, the British Horseracing Authority's senior handicapper, to take proper account of the 'Aintree factor' and give small yards the chance to compete alongside the top trainers with multiple entries, or the multi-millionaire owners who use their wealth to buy the best horses available.

At present, the omens are not good. Having run in the National off a rating of 139, which saw him rated the 37th out of the 40 runners on the day, Cerium's performance rating now stands at 133 – despite his heroics. Intervening runs have also not affected the horse's standing; Cerium has not seen a racecourse since Aintree.

As a result, Murphy, 35, fears Cerium will miss the cut unless the handicapper puts a greater emphasis on National form when he announces the weights next month for this year's renewal.

"It will be criminal if Cerium does not get in," said Murphy, who was personally congratulated by Nicholls for last year's training feat.

"This is an absolutely fantastic horse who deserves to be in the National. I ride him myself every day and he's an absolute revelation.

"When we bought him from the sales over a year ago, he wasn't a happy horse. Very miserable. He was down in life. But we just got him doing different things – road work, hacking and so on – and making sure his routine is different every day.

"Now he's bucking and squealing every day. I've been training him with the National in the mind and I think he can do even better this year.

"Just think what might have happened last year if he hadn't been kicked when Zabenz came down at the water jump. We'll never know.

"You know My Will, from the Nicholls yard, will be well in the handicap. Yet my fella was only a couple of lengths behind. That has to count, doesn't it?"

As he prepares to start finalising the weights, Smith told the Yorkshire Post it was ironic that he was being asked to raise a horse's handicap rating when trainers normally demanded the opposite.

He said his brief had been to improve the quality of horses running in the National – and, therefore, improve the race's standing as a spectacle with more entries having a genuine chance of completing the course and contesting the finish.

"I certainly thought Cerium had a fair chance last year," added Smith. "Last year, you needed a rating of 139 to get in. Ten years ago, it was 110. That is how much the race has improved.

"Yes, I take account of Aintree form, but the easiest way to get a run in the National is for the horse to keep running."

It is here, however, that Smith's opinion deviates from the strongly-held views put forward by Murphy – and Fergus Wilson, the Kent property developer, who owns Cerium with his wife Judith.

Wilson has a strained relationship with the BHA; he believes it is right to run his horses, however unfancied, in races like the Epsom Derby or Cheltenham Gold Cup, if they meet the eligibility criteria.

They have never, however, impeded more fancied runners.

Yet, because Cerium previously had a propensity for bleeding during races, he is now campaigned more sparingly.

This explains why Murphy used last year's Cheltenham Gold Cup – where Cerium was a creditable 11th behind Kauto Star – as a warm-up for the National.

He intends do likewise this year; Cerium being one of 27 entries for racing's blue riband race which is being billed as a showdown between the great Kauto Star and the 2008 champion Denman.

Indeed Mr Pointment, another former Nicholls horse, who the Wilsons purchased recently at Doncaster's sales and asked Murphy to train, is also expected to renew acquaintances with his former stablemates in the Gold Cup before heading to Aintree – the handicapper permitting.

One solution, says Murphy, could be for the first six in the National and previous winners of the Becher Chase, a recognised National trial, to be weighted so they are guaranteed a run – provided that their soundness is proven.

It would, he says, reward their experience – just like the best performing golfers at the US Masters and the Open are exempted from having to pre-qualify for the following year's tournament.

At nine, Cerium is at the optimum age for a chaser, says Murphy.

"We've overcome the bleeding by training Cerium differently, and racing him sparingly," he said.

"To me, it doesn't matter who owns the horse. The horse has to come first.

"However, Cerium could not withstand the rigours of racing regularly just to catch the eye of the handicapper. We just wouldn't be doing the horse any favours lumping a big weight around just for the sake of it.

"Look at the rhythm Keith Mercer got out of Cerium last year. They didn't charge off; they bided their time and were running on at the end. It's what the National is supposed to be all about. I'm a small yard. I've got 17 horses. I haven't got owners who can spend 200,000 on a horse. I have to pick up horses that have lost their way – and then rejuvenate them.

"It's why we have Mr Pointment. He won the Becher Chase over the National fences in November, 2007 and then lost his way. His rating means he should get in this year – but there are no guarantees.

"Yet he's come down in the handicap just because he changed stables. Why should that make a difference?

"Aintree form has to be considered. You shouldn't have a case a few years ago when Martin Pipe had 10 runners – and other stables have dozens of speculative entries because they have so many good horses.

"There has to be a level playing field so small yards are treated just the same as everyone else. That's all I want. A chance. What happened to the romance of the National? And I promise you this: Cerium won't let anyone down. He'll help raise the standard, as Mr Smith wants. And he won't be 500-1 again. That much is certain."

'Proving everyone wrong was more satisfying than winning over the fences'

The Trainer

PAUL Murphy has winning form over the fearsome Aintree fences – he is the youngest jockey to triumph in the Foxhunters' Chase for amateur riders at the Grand National meeting.

He was 17 when he galloped into the record books in 1992 aboard the 13-year-old Gee-A. It remains the proudest racing moment in the life of Murphy's father Ferdy, the West Witton handler.

"The thing about Gee-A and Cerium is their jumping; they were good jumpers," said Murphy. "Gee-A was like Cerium at home – very lazy. You had to do something different. But, believe me, training a horse to be fifth in the National, and proving everyone wrong, was much more satisfying than winning over the fences."

The Jockey

AS an aspiring rider growing up a short distance away from Aintree's hallowed turf, Keith Mercer will never forget the thrill of finishing fifth in last year's Grand National on Cerium.

"It was brilliant. He was a thrill all the way through the race and he was very sure of himself," said Mercer, 27, who now lives in Richmond, North Yorkshire. "To grow up nearby – and then be involved in the finish – it was fantastic.

"Cerium's a real Aintree horse because he jumps so well and that is the most important thing.

"You just hope that is taken into account and he gets another crack this year. Form over fences like Becher's Brook and The Chair needs to count."