All it needed was a throwaway sentence from the champion trainer and off went some punters into a madcap gamble that had the bookies reeling.
All it needed was a throwaway sentence from the champion trainer and off went some punters into a madcap gamble that had the bookies reeling.
In his column in the trade paper, the Racing Post, Paul Nicholls said he had come around to the idea of entering Denman in the Grand National, adding "The more I've thought about it, the more it makes sense while Denman is in his prime."
Maybe it was because of the lack of betting action after the abandonment of the jump racing at Sandown and Wincanton, but whatever the cause, there was a mass response from punters.
According to Ladbrokes, the Nicholls quote "sent ante-post punters into a frenzy". The firm reduced their odds against the Gold Cup hero to 10-1 from 16-1, but that was mild compared to other bookies, as totesport and Stan James made the nine-year-old 7-1 clear favourite.
The betting furore is all the more surprising in light of the reaction to the trainer's suggestion by the two owners of the horse who is due to make his debut in the Aon Chase at Newbury next month. Neither Paul Barber nor Harry Findlay seem too enthusiastic about the National possibility, although they acknowledge Denman will be entered for the race.
Barber said: "He is not a definite runner, by any means. I am not so keen on running a horse in the National, though I am not saying I won't. I am not a huge supporter of the Grand National, full stop. "We Nicholls, himself and Findlay have not even spoken about the National. If the horse is favourite it's nonsense."
Findlay said: "If there is a time for Paul Nicholls, Paul Barber and myself to sit down and have a chat about where we are going, it will be after the Aon Chase."
If the owners do come around to the idea, it will delight British Horseracing Authority chief handicapper Phil Smith. "It' would be very exciting news for the race and, obviously, it will make me think a bit," said Smith. "It's the culmination of everything we have been trying to achieve for the last 10 years as we have been trying to get the better horses to run.
"Ten years ago, the highest-rated horse in the race was 150 and now it could be 182 so it is really fantastic.
"At the bottom end, the lowest-rated horse was 110 in 1999 and last year it was 138, so the race has improved by two stones in 10 years. It's great for the sponsors as they are puttingin a lot of money and they deserve the best horses.
"I suggested they dropped the top weight to 11st 10lb from 11st 12lb and that has been accepted by everyone and obviously that has encouraged Denman's connections.
"Obviously all the news is about Denman but I suspect there will be a lot of other exceptionally good horses in there as well."
Elsewhere, connections of the impressive Leopardstown winner, Sweeps Hill, have warned the Weatherbys Champion Bumper is not high on the agenda of the JP McManus representative.
The New Zealand-bred son of Montjeu earned quotes of just 12-1 for the Cheltenham event when barely coming off the bridle to score over the Christmas period, but a trip across the Irish sea on March 11 is not a given.
McManus' racing manager Frank Berry said: "There are no firm plans but I would say he will have another run in Ireland sometime. He did it well last time and we couldn't have been happier,"
