Badgerlaw can overcome novice status in marathon; Watching the trainers Kevin Morley examines Ireland's Midlands National record.

Byline: Kevin Morley

THE Irish flock to the Cotswolds in droves for the festival, but some of the training fraternity extend their stay in England to the weekend, and Uttoxeter's Midlands National appears to be one of the main reasons for that.

Cheltenham requires horses to have a sufficient blend of speed and stamina to prevail, but this marathon handicap chase enables a pure slogger to grab a small piece of the racing headlines this week.

Irish trainers have a terrific record in this 4m11/2f race and, considering the requirements of a horse it takes to win such a contest, it should come as no surprise. Testing ground is often the norm in longdistance chases in Ireland, and soft terrain at Uttoxeter, as is usually the case at this time of year, is probably more stamina-sapping than conditions of a similar description anywhere else in Britain.

Five of the last ten renewals have seen the prize head back to Ireland, who have also had several horses perform admirably in defeat, and scanning the entries for Saturday's race, it looks as though they have a great chance of making it six from 11.

Of the seven Irish entries for the race, five of them would have serious claims on the form book.

Sound Witness (trained by Robert Tyner), Royal Man (Charlie Swan), Dante Hall (Tommy Stack), Dun Doire (Tony Martin) and Badgerlaw (Jessica Harrington) would all deserve consideration if lining up, but it's the last-named who appeals most as a betting proposition.

Harrington has been responsible for two of the last four Irish winners, with Intelligent winning in 2003 and Miss Orchestra victorious in 1998. What both horses had in common, apart from being housed with Harrington, is that they were novices when pitched into this handicap chase.

Intelligent and Miss Orchestra were campaigned aggressively during those seasons, the pair having eight starts each prior to success in the Midlands National, which proved to be the highest level of form either achieved.

Badgerlaw's career seems to be following a similar path. The eight-year-old is in his novice season as a chaser and has been busy this season, having run seven times. He has never run over further than 3m, but improvement looks likely when faced with a marathon distance and he must be supported if Harrington turns him out at Uttoxeter this weekend.

CAPTION(S):

Jessica Harrington: has a likely type for Midlands National