Storming Sam set for National

Crack amateur Sam Waley-Cohen set himself up for the ride

of his life in the Grand National

with another storming display

yesterday at Kempton.

The 24-year-old commodity

broker threw down the gauntlet

on Shatabdi going into the

second circuit in the opening

novice hurdle and powered the

five-year-old mare to a ninelengths

victory.

"She’s small, not much bigger

than a Shetland pony, but she’s a

flying machine," beamed Waley-

Cohen, who took advice from

professional Mick Fitzgerald on

where to find the best ground.

"He told me to stick to the rail

and it worked," he added.

Aintree where Waley-Cohen,

who has been working with

former champion jump jockey

Stan Mellor on his finishing

technique, is due to ride

Liberthine in the great race.

"I’ve always dreamed of riding

in the National," he said. "When

I was a young boy riding around

on the farm we had a little drop

fence — we used to call it

Becher’s Brook."

Waley-Cohen is no stranger to

Aintree’s big fences and last year

won the Fox Hunters’ Chase on

Katarino, for a second time, and

the Topham Trophy on

Liberthine. He said: "I was down

at Nicky Henderson’s stable a

couple of days ago and

Liberthine seems to have come

out of her recent race over

hurdles at Newbury really well."

It is now all systems go for