Luke Morris expects this filly to go close at Wolves this Saturday…

I might be a Flat jockey but it’s all about the Crabbie’s Grand National this weekend and I, like millions of other people, am really looking forward to watching the race.

They’re brave the riders taking part in the race and I’m more than happy to be watching the race and cheering them on then taking part myself – give me Lingfield and Wolverhampton any day over jumping those fences at speed! The horse I’ll be supporting in the race is The Last Samuri.

He’s at the right end of the weights and clearly in really good form, as his last couple of wins have shown. He’s been trained specifically for the race and he looks to be the one horse in the race that could potentially still be on the upgrade. He’d be the one that I’d pick.

I’ll be travelling between meetings when the race is on so I’ll try and watch it on my phone in the car as I’ll have a driver this weekend. It’s a race no-one wants to miss.

It’s a quieter weekend for me with a few rides at Lingfield and Wolverhampton and I’m hoping there’s a winner or two among them.

Venus Grace – 2.00 Lingfield
She’s more than capable of winning off her new mark but I’m concerned about the trip. She’s dropping back to seven furlongs for this race having won over a mile last time and she felt like she needed every yard of the trip last time. There are plenty of horses that gain confidence from winning and you’d hope that might happen with her, but she needs to step up on what she’s done to be winning again.

He’s drawn in stall 11 but that’s not the end of the world. He’s a horse that’s dropped in when he races anyway and is ridden for a bit of luck. He’s had a good winter and I rode him in the Mile final on All-Weather Finals day last time when he was a bit out of his depth. This is an easier race and off his mark I’d like to think he’d have a decent each-way chance.

Quickaswecan – 6.20 Wolverhampton
He probably needs to drop a couple of pounds in the handicap to be really competitive again. He’s drawn nicely in stall two which is a plus and I’m sure he’ll come good at some stage, but he might just be in the grip of the handicapper at the moment.

Easydoesit – 7.20 Wolverhampton
He’s an old boy that has done well in the past. It’s a pretty poor race this and hopefully he can be thereabouts at the end.

Ms Gillard – 8.50 Wolverhampton
She’s stepping up in distance from a mile to a mile and a half so has to prove that she stays the trip, although to be fair most of the horses in the race are in the same position. I rode her when she was third over a mile at Chelmsford last time and she ran well that day. If she gets the trip then she’s more than capable of being thereabouts at the end.

Innoko – 9.20 Wolverhampton
I’ve won on this horse a couple of times in the past and he’s been running well recently without getting his head in front. He’ll need a bit of luck from stall ten but if things drop right for him he’s another that’s more than capable of going in.

Cheers,
Luke