Colin Tizzard’s eleven-year-old runner Ultragold has triumphed over the Grand National fences in the Topham Chase for two years running and he will be given a crack at the big one in 2019 for which he is currently best-priced at 40/1 with William Hill Bookmakers.
Ultragold was handed a weight of 10st 3lb earlier this month and as such he sits 50th on the Grand National list of entries. The trainer confirmed that he will aim the runner in the direction of the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase in the 2019 Cheltenham Festival as a pre for the famous steeplechase at Aintree on April 6th. Indeed Tiger Roll was also triumphant at Cheltenham on his way to Grand National glory in 2018 and Tizzard will be hoping that he will emulate this success with Ultragold.
The trainer said: “We’ve had this brainwave this week that we might run him in the cross-country chase,.
“It seemed a good prep race for the National for one of the others (winner Tiger Roll) last year!
“We ran him at Cheltenham the last two or three years – and although he hasn’t won, he has done quite well, and it has been a good prep for Aintree.
“He is in the Ultima, but he will be put in the cross country. We will school him, but I just think he will have a better chance of winning the cross-country than he would the Ultima.
“Then we will run him in the Grand National. He is in the Topham – but if he gets in, he will go for the National.”
