Wyck Hill, currently a 40/1 shot in the ante-post market for the 2014 Crabbies Grand National at Aintree on April 5, is gradually finding his form this season and ran a race of promise at the Liverpool track in the Betfred Becher Chase at the December meeting.
Ninth of the 22-tunner field for the competitive three-and-a-quarter-mile chase run over the Grand National fences, the gelded son of Pierre had lost touch with the leaders by halfway and appeared more likely to fail to finish at that point. But entering the final mile the nine-year-old got his second wind, and whilst never threatening to finish in the first four was noted running on nicely from the second last to eventually finish some 21 lengths behind the winner, Chance Du Roy.
Purchased last season by JP McManus with the Grand National very much in mind, Wyck Hill has been something of a rags-to-riches story for trainer David Bridgwater having looked nothing more than an ordinary handicapper when winning a Chepstow chase off a mark of just 106 in October 2011. Since then the stayer has improved an impressive 35lbs and has won three more races, including the listed Champagne Bollinger Silver Cup Handicap Chase at Ascot last December when outpointing the very useful Katenko by four lengths.
Ruled out of running at Aintree after suffering a setback when down the field in February’s Racing Post Chase at Kempton, Wyck Hill bounced back to finish third in the Pat Taaffe Handicap Chase at the Punchestown Festival in April, and was far from disgraced on his seasonal reappearance at Ascot in November when finishing midfield in the Grade 3 United House Gold Cup won by Houblon Des Obeaux.
With a clear run up to Aintree this time around Bridgwater’s charge could well run a big race in this term’s renewal of ‘the world’s greatest steeplechase’.
