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No Welsh National appearance for The Two Amigos due to ‘Stupid Mistake’
The Two Amigos finished second in the 2020 renewal of the Welsh Grand National, however he won’t be given a chance to go one better at Chepstow in the 2021 marathon due to handler Nicky Martin forgetting to enter him into the race.
When the 3m 6 1/2 furlong contest gets underway at Chepstow Racecourse on 27th December, Martin’s stable star will be resting in his box at the trainer’s Somerset yard instead of bidding to go one better than last year when he chased home Secret Reprieve in January.
Following thus unfortunate oversight, Martin has revised her plans for the runner and instead will focus on aiming him towards the Randox Grand National on 9th April. She has previously been somewhat reluctant to send The Two Amigos over the National Fences at Aintree due to his small stature.
Having finished eighth in the Midlands Grand National back in March this year, the likelihood is that The Two Amigos will get his season underway with an appearance in the Welsh Grand National trial a week on Saturday at Chepstow.
Following her blunder, the trainer said: “We’d had a few major dramas at the farm on the morning of Welsh National entry day and I forgot. By the time I remembered, it was 1pm and I’d missed the deadline. It was a stupid mistake and rather annoying, as you can imagine, so we’re having to go down another route.”
Even though the runner won’t be appearing in the big race at Chepstow on December 27th, he will likely feature in the trial, a race in which he finished second to Welsh National Secret Reprieve last season.
She said: “He’s absolutely flying at home but he likes heavy ground, so there’s been no point in running him as it’s been so dry everywhere. There are various options the weekend after next including the Welsh National Trial and the Borders National at Kelso as well as races at Sandown and Aintree. Hopefully it rains at least at one of the four tracks to allow him to run.”
She added: “I was annoyed I missed the deadline but maybe these things happen for a reason and I think it’s cutting it fine running in the Welsh National just three weeks after the trial anyway. Long term we may go very big and have a crack at the Grand National as my other half is trying to talk me into it. I know I previously thought the horse was too small for the National fences but they’re not that big these days.”
The closing date for entries into the Randox Grand National is at the end of December and Nicky Martin is taking no chances for the biggest of all steeplechase contests. She said: “The entry for Aintree is the end of December and I’ve written it on every calendar and every diary I have so I don’t forget.”
