This is exactly what I would do. Grand National qualifiers.

I have decided katie walsh has got the sexiest voice ever!!!

Yeah rich u are exactly right - how can they expect a horse like synchronised, whose jumping has been questioned, to jump fences like bechers and the chair without a high risk of serious accident

Must say though, of all the falls I saw today, Zarkandar's looked one of the worst and he must be counted a very lucky horse indeed to have walked away from that!!! Future star in my opinion as well, believed he was going to prove that today before going onto to big things!!

Ermmmm....not quite right really Anubisrich! He ran a great race and finished the course.

Ballabriggs finished 6th!
Shakalakaboomboom was never going to win that race; he faded badly towards the end.

Totally agree with your point about increasing restrictions to enter the race though, and possibly having more races during the season over the National fences, perhaps at the 3m2f Becher Chase distance.

My bad, Ballabriggs did finish, what a run. He got stuffed early and dropped right out I thought he'd be pulled up.

Planet of Sound went from 1st to near last in about 200 yards!

8 slaps for Neptune Collonges, 2 for Sunnyhillboy.

2 years in a row I've backed the runner up and been beaten by the jockey who breaks the rules. Still, what the hell is McLernon playing at? First and last time I'll back a horse ridden by him, total amateur.

Actually 8 is the legal amount and sunnyhill boy may have had more out on the course.

Maybe the horse doesnt respond to slaps. I'm pretty sure he knows the horse fairly well and felt he was giving his all after 4 1/2 miles.

5 after the final obstacle isn't it? And SHB was hit twice.

Sigone, watch the Kim Muir at Cheltenham this year. The horse was 5L down when the jockey (not Richie McJoke) put him under pressure and finished 5L clear.

You have obviously been out of touch for quite a while. They dropped the final furlong/obstacle rule months ago! Tbh I would like to see you ride the national and then lose out in aphoristic. Put it this way, the jockey will have lost a lot more in coming second than you will have backing him!

Certainly agree with National qualifiers, I think thats a great shout and could even create more of a build up to the main race itself.

We have now!

Well it was 8 that I counted and he was out of shot for a while and the RSPCA are bitching about it. Personally I don't think he hit him too much but McLernon was awful, a non trier. I don't think he lost more than everyone who backed Sunnyhillboy in good faith that the jockey was going to try and win.

I would love to ride in the national, I'm about a stone too heavy although pretty handy on a horse. My whole family are involved in racing, my sister is a jockey/assistant trainer, my brother in law a trainer so we kind of know a hell of a lot about racing. We all said Mclernon was absolutely terrible and was awful in the finish because he thought he'd won.

Have watched ruk coverage, synchronised was hurt after his fall at bechers can see him limping, but kept going and even when he fell again he kept going until he was stopped in the straight. A very brave horse, RIP.RIP According To Pete also, cruellest of ways to go brought down at bechers.

Sadly, Golden Miller will be the one and only gold cup winner to win the national in the same year, nobody will ever try it again.