Strange, the bookmakers cut Ballabriggs for winning a couple of hurdles and then leave him unchanged when he gets beaten over fences? Even allowing for the winner having a new lease of life, he found disappointingly little off the bridle and I think there are big doubts about him staying the trip and even if he did whether he is good enough.
I was at Kelso and i wouldn’t read anything too much into it. They went no pace early on. The front two are nice horses. Whether they have the stamina for the National is guesswork. One thing that strikes me about the National these days is that apart from Amberleigh House, nothing has come from a mile back to win. If the ground is quick you need a horse with a bit of pace to keep up in the first half of the race. The winner is usually in the front group by Beechers second time. These two could cope with that. Not sure the likes of Silver By Nature would be within 25 lengths at this stage on decent ground.
every now and then (not very often !!) i get lulled into thinking i know a wee bit about racing 