my birthday is nearly here. 69 0n saturday!

​Can someone please tell me if Capodanno is running on Saturday. In the Grand National, I mean, not running around a paddock at Closutton. Or on Willie Mullins’ famous deep Wexford sand gallop. If he is going to run, would Willie have informed J.P. or Mark Walsh by now? Or is this another of Willie’s inspired last-second decisions? Is he keeping Mark Walsh guessing, as well as you and me, so that he'll go with Any Second Now, just to get a ride confirmed, allowing Willie to put Paul Townend on Capodanno, as Paul sure isn’t going to choose the mercurial, some would say, quirky and devilish, Mr. Incredible, named no doubt after Willie himself, who the bookies and punters seem to think is Closutton’s best chance of victory. If Capodanno is an option, can you see Townend choosing Gaillard Du Mesnil or Carefully Selected?
Imagine if you are the one who looks after Capodanno. You have never been to Aintree and day in day out for months you have seen Willie slowly working his magic on your pride and joy, taking him from nearly crocked to the shiny magnificent beast you lay your hands on every evening. You might even have backed him ante-post, ten euros here, ten euros there, building your stake until you are now sitting on enough potential winnings to buy a car in the same vein as Willie’s or Paul’s. Willie must tip the wink to someone in the stable, surely.
And how about me? How can I dream of wiping out the local bookmaker if I’ll not know until the final seconds before declaration time that Capodanno is in Liverpool, primed for 5-15 in the late afternoon? One thing we can be sure of, if Capodanno is at the start he’s not there for the fun of it. He’ll be there because Willie believes he is fit enough to do himself justice; fit enough to win.
Yes, I’m wavering in my support for Lifetime Ambition. I am believing Capodanno is the best horse in the race. Better than Any Second Now. Better than Noble Yeats. Good enough to give the weight to Corach Rambler. I’m not even concerned that he has had only one run since Punchestown last year. I’m not even concerned that it seems improbable that the same trainer, jockey and owner can win both the Irish and Aintree Grand Nationals in the same week. I would be bullish if only Willie would tip me the wink. I would be overflowing with bull if I knew Townend was riding Capodanno as the man is riding out of his skin at the moment. He was a magician on I Am Maximus at Fairyhouse. No, he was more than a magician – he was superman. I didn’t think he would win at any point in the race. He lifted the horse home; practically carried him on his back.
Ordinarily I am sick of Mullins winning everything. On Saturday, though, I am 100% a Closutton disciple. 

The good news for the coming flat season is that the King has a very good 3-year-old colt. A classic possible, no less. But not, it seems, the Derby prospect bookies and punters have led us to believe all winter. I hoped fate was going to allow the King to win the one classic that eluded his mother, though now I hope Slipofthepen will emulate Pall Mall who gave the late Queen her first classic by winning the 2,000 Guineas, run on the same day as the King’s Coronation, which would be publicity for the sport that no amount of money could buy.
Not that the Gosdens are making any definite plans to aim Slipofthepen at the Newmarket classic. He has other fish to fry before he firms up plans for any of his likely 2,000 Guineas candidates. And if Slipofthepen does head to Newmarket it is going to give Frankie an almighty headache, given he has signed on the imaginary dotted line to ride Chaldean in the 2,000 Guineas.
To return to the Grand National. It seems pretty likely we will have a field of 40 on Saturday, though whether it will be the top forty as of now is uncertain. Imagine how Martin Keithley is feeling and Harry Redknapp, trainer and part-owner of Back on the Lash, a horse now with the guarantee of getting a run, yet, with the ground likely to be soft and him being in want of good ground, the risk might outweigh any benefit? This is, though, is the magic of the Grand National, and neither can be sure if they will ever get the opportunity to take part again.