It could be argued that last year's John Smith's Grand National hero Don't Push It has been handed a fair weight as he bids to win the great race for the second year running having been allotted joint top-weight of 11st 10lbs, along with the classy grey Neptunes Collonges, writes Elliot Slater.
There were few complaints from trainers at the official Grand National weights lunch on February 15, with the general feeling being that most horses had been weighted according to the expectations of their respective connections. Don't Push It, one of six potential runners in the race for owner JP McManus, won last year's race by five lengths from Black Apalachi (who misses this year's contest through injury), running off a mark of 153 and carrying 11st 6lbs. On April 9 he will have to carry just 4lbs more than 12 months ago, and although he has top weight he has not been over-burdened if you take his new official mark of 164 into account and the latest Grand National odds suggest he is still in with an excellent chance.
Whether champion jockey Tony McCoy will judge that carrying such a weight is beyond the capabilities of the 11-year-old remains to be seen, but he will doubtless think long and hard before deserting the horse that gave him victory in the one major race that had eluded him, and was subsequently a major contributing factor to his success in being voted 'BBC Sports Personality of the Year'.
Early reaction from the bookmaking fraternity following the publication of the weights was to leave Don't Push It at a general offer of 20/1. Donald McCain's Ballabriggs is the stronger of the two market leaders at present trading at around 14/1 favourite with most firms, whilst Niche Market is on offer with most firms at 16/1.
