Aintree ground eases

The going at Aintree has eased slightly on the eve of the John Smith's Grand National meeting.

National course is soft, good to soft in places

The going at Aintree has eased slightly on the eve of the John Smith's Grand National meeting. Clerk of the Course Andrew Tulloch changed the going on the Grand National course to soft, good to soft in places (from good to soft, soft in places) after two millimetres of rain overnight. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Mildmay and Hurdle courses remain good to soft, good in places. Tullloch said: "The National course is retaining the moisture as the majority of the ground has not been raced on since last year's John Smith's Grand National meeting. "We may get a bit of drizzle on Thursday but it is meant to be mainly dry. Friday afternoon and Saturday are forecast to be dry and the temperatures are set to increase as we approach the John Smith's Grand National. "The Mildmay and Hurdle courses ride a bit quicker because of a different soil substructure but we will have fresh ground on the bends each day." The GoingStick readings at 4pm on Wednesday were Mildmay course 6.6; Hurdle course 6.4 and Grand National course 5.4.