Lee free for House bid
Graham Lee is free to resume his partnership with Amberleigh House in the John Smith’s Grand National after it was revealed that Grey Abbey will bypass the Aintree spectacular.
Lee rode Amberleigh House when he won the four-and-a-half-mile marathon last year but he faced a difficult decision as boss Howard Johnson’s Grey Abbey was also entered in the race.
However, Johnson has ruled out the 11-year-old after Lee schooled him over Aintree-type fences at his County Durham stable today.
“After the way he schooled on Thursday morning Howard made the decision that he didn’t think the National was the right for him,” said Johnson’s daughter Lucy Forbes.
“He appeared to be a bit scared of the fences and jumped a bit low and was concerned that he wasn’t going to get round, so he’s made the decision for Graham.
“Howard doesn’t think he’s a National horse and he doesn’t want the horse to cause himself any injury.
“If he was the type of horse you could switch off at the back and hack round for the first three miles he probably would have gone for it.
“But he likes to be up there and Graham said he would be one of those wanting to make the pace so the first fence might be a bit hairy.”
Grey Abbey could still run at Aintree with the Betfair Bowl over the Mildmay fences an option while the Gala Casinos Daily Record Scottish Grand National, which he won last season, is another possibility.
“He might still go for the Scottish National and after speaking to the owners, there’ll be an entry for him in the Betfair Bowl at Aintree,” Forbes added.
Lee partnered the 13-year-old Amberleigh House in his first three starts this term and he also rode the horse in a serious schooling session at Haydock on Sunday.
Amberleigh House is one of the leading fancies for the big race on April 9 and is as low as 9-1 with Coral to give trainer Ginger McCain a record fifth success in the race.
