Synchronised ~ Would you run him in the National?

[BillyHills]

Simple question here, if you owned Synchronised would you run him in the Grand National and buck the usual trend of Gold Cup winners? (I'm not asking if you think he will win the race) Background; We have just had the latest declaration stage of the National and 59 runners stood their ground, the lowest for years and we could have less than the max 40 runners, it will also be the most competitive for a while with all runners getting a proper handicap mark. Synchronised is top weight with 11st 10lbs and runs off a mark of 161, if the handicapper could do the weights again he would have Synchronised carrying 7lbs more. Also his stable companion Sunnyhillboy is in the race also owned by JP, he would have to carry 10lbs more in any other handicap after his win at Cheltenham. My View; In a word, yes, i would run the horse, i'm not sure he can win off that weight but i like to see these top class chasers run in the best races and i think it would be good for racing. Also he will never get as well handicapped in the future so he may as well take his chance. The national was always his target from the start of the season and he won the Welsh version off 150, he kicked off the season over hurdles to protect the mark and then surprisingly popped up to win the Lexus beating rivals rated over 10lbs superior. Now this gave the handicapper a problem and was raised to his present mark, my view is that the Irish chasing division this year is a poor one and he didn't actually beat a lot that day, in fact that was evident in the absence of any Irish challengers at Cheltenham in the Gold Cup. The Gold Cup itself is also open to debate, we had Kauto Star running below par, Long Run hasn't really impressed all year and The Giant Bolster finished a close second off 160, also Time For Rupert was only beaten a few lengths of 153. I think his mark of 161 for the National is about right and i dint think he his in fact 7lbs well in so i don't think he's a good thing or anything like it. Handicappers tend to raise any winner excessively these days regardless of the facts. With Easter coming early this year the Cheltenham horses do get an extra week break between the two festivals and i think this above anything else is the reason i would run him, the connections are the sporting type and i'm sure will line up as long as he's well unless they actually think Sunnyhillboy will do the business for them instead. Thoughts?

[Trotter]

Re: Synchronised ~ Would you run him in the National? I'd definitely run him on the basis that he's in the form of his life, he'll probably never have a better chance to win the National. They know he stays and jumps............ At the end of the season, if he were mine, I'd like to be lookng back at the National as mission accomplished and the Gold Cup as a bonus !