Harry Redknapp’s Grand National dream over but he could still walk away with £140,000 on Ladies’ Day at Aintree
HARRY REDKNAPP’S Grand National dream will have to wait for another year after his superstar horse was declared for a different race.
But the legendary football manager could still walk away from Aintree £140,000 better off on Ladies’ Day.
Redknapp went wild celebrating Shakem Up’Arry’s win in the Plate Handicap Chase at last month’s Cheltenham Festival.
And he had huge hopes the Ben Pauling-trained chaser, named after a West Ham fan, would go for a tilt at the world’s most famous race – worth £500,000 to the winner – this Saturday.
But the horse has officially been declared for Friday’s Topham Handicap Chase on Ladies Day instead.
Shakem Up’Arry had been supported into 33-1 from 66-1 and was the most backed horse in bookies’ non-runner money back markets.
But now the money could pile into him for the big handicap over 2m5f instead, where victory is worth £84,195.
Shakem Up’Arry is already 8-1 second-fav for the 4.05pm contest, which will be shown live on ITV1.
And it could turn out to be a massive day for the racing lover, who also saddles The Jukebox Man.
A desperately unlucky 18-1 runner-up in last month’s Albert Bartlett, Redknapp’s other horse is currently 6-1 favourite for the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle.
That race, which comes directly after Shakem Up’Arry’s, is worth £56,270 to the winner.
It means it could be an absolutely massive hour or so for the iconic boss, who saw one of his horses banned for 40 days earlier this week.
Jockey Paddy Brennan was hauled in for questioning after the run of Northern Air in a race at Wincanton.
He was found to have schooled the horse in public, with trainer Fergal O’Brien getting hit with the maximum £4,000 fine for the offence.
And Brennan was banned for 18 days for failing to ‘ask for timely, real and substantial effort to obtain the best possible placing’ on the five-year-old mare.
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