Nolan has ground concerns ahead of National bid Paul Nolan has ground concerns ahead of Daily Present's tilt at the BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse this afternoon. Pulled up on heavy ground in last year's renewal, the Mahler eight-year-old has been lightly raced this campaign, winning the Kim Muir at Cheltenham when seen. He beat the re-opposing Johnnywho by a neck at Prestbury Park, with the pair now much closer in the weights. "He had been placed on soft ground earlier this season but the nicer ground in Cheltenham definitely helped him so much, when he hit the line so well," Nolan said. "We beat Johnnywho in Cheltenham when the young lad (Barry Stone) gave him a great ride, but we mightn't beat him today (Sunday) as we wouldn’t want the ground to be any more testing. "I don't want to run him for the sake of it but I'd imagine it will dry out fairly quickly. I wouldn't like to run him with soft or heavy mentioned but we'll see what happens. Then again, it is the National so it is very hard to take him out and he has a nice weight, with Aidan Kelly claiming 5lb." Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes
