Lord Du Mesnil tipped for strong Chepstow run

Richard Hobson believes the predicted testing conditions will suit Lord Du Mesnil during Saturday’s rescheduled Welsh Grand National at Chepstow.

Waterlogging forced the original scheduling of the fixture on December 27 to be postponed and officials at Chepstow have confirmed an inspection will take place at the track on Friday afternoon, with wintry showers and snow forecast ahead of the weekend.

Trainer Hobson is hopeful the race will still be able to go ahead and he believes the expected heavy conditions will suit Lord Du Mesnil, who enjoyed an impressive win in last season’s Last Fling Handicap Chase at Haydock in similar conditions.

“We don’t know exactly what the ground will be like when they take the covers off though I assume it will be pretty tacky,” Hobson was quoted as saying by the Racing Post.

“He goes in it and he won at Haydock in very deep, tacky conditions, though wet soft would be his ideal ground.

“If the ground is really that tacky when they take the covers off there are a lot of horses it’s really not going to suit. I walked the course before he won the Last Fling Chase up at Haydock last season and I thought, ‘my God this is holding’, but he went through it.”

Lord Du Mesnil was last seen finishing ninth in the Grand Sefton Handicap Chase at Aintree last month, but Hobson feels the eight-year-old is in prime condition to mount a more serious challenge at the business end of the race this weekend.

“He’s in great order and he’s been ready to run for a couple of weeks so we’re looking forward to giving it a shot,” the trainer added. “We know he stays three-miles-six and this has been very much the plan.”

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