Blaklion was one of the familiar names which were absent from the Grand National weights list this week and connections have stated that he won’t be in action again this season. The eleven-year-old finished in fourth position in the 2017 Grand National when sent-off at odds of 8/1 at the main Grand National bookmakers, however he was ruled out of the 2019 renewal due to an injury.
Darren Skelton purchased the horse for a reported £300,000 in the build-up to last year’s Grand National and sent him to trainer Philip Kirby before moving him to Dan Skelton.
Apparently Blaklion’s return is a considerable time away, assistant trainer Tom Messenger saying: “He will come back next season, quite what he will do I’m not sure.
“He had a couple of niggly problems when we got him, a previous leg injury and hock issues so he just needed a bit of time off.
“He’s not in training at the moment.
“We will start again in the autumn. We will bring him back in and see how he goes.”
Blacklion took the lead in the 2017 Grand National with just five fences left to jump under Noel Fehily, however he tired visibly in the latter stages as One For Arthur went on to finish first past the post in the £1 million steeplechase.
He won the Becher Chase the following season, however he didn’t make it past the first fence in the big race itself when under trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies.
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