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Le Breuil out to enhance Grand National claims this weekend

Trainer Ben Pauling will be hopeful that Cheltenham festival hero Le Breuil will do the business off top weight in this weekend’s McCoy Contractors Civil Engineering Classic Chase at Warwick. The runner concluded an excellent novice campaign over fences in thrilling fashion when triumphing in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham last March and while he was pulled-up on his reappearance over hurdles at Wetherby, he encouraged when finishing seventh over the Grand National fences in the Becher Chase last month.

Now that Pauling’s yard have put a disappointing run behind them and returned to form, hopes are high that the eight-year-old can become a serious contender in the 2020 Grand National with a good showing this weekend.

Pauling said: “He seems very well in himself, and I would hope he’ll run a big race.

“He ran well enough in the Becher, and obviously we’re out of the woods since then.

“We’re very much looking forward to running him.”

Jamie Codd was in the saddle at Cheltenham and at Aintree, however the Irish amateur jockey isn’t available on Saturday afternoon and instead it will be left to 7lb claimer Luca Morgan.

The trainer added: “Le Breuil has had an array of jockeys over the last few years. He’s Jamie’s ride, and he’ll keep the ride moving forward, but he couldn’t make it over from Ireland this weekend – so with top-weight, we thought we’d take 7lb off his back.

“We’ll take a view after Saturday, but I’d say he might have done enough and we could go straight to the National with him.”

Le Breiul is an ante-post price of 25/1 to win the 2020 Randox Health Grand National on April 4th.