Bobbyjo off at top weight

Twenty-seven horses are declared to start Easter Monday's £125,000 Powers Gold Label Irish Grand National, including the 1998 winner Bobbyjo, who tops the weights on 12st.

But there is still a doubt about the full complement of 27 taking part, with Cockney Lad due to run at Cork tomorrow instead.

Bobbyjo's trainer, Tommy Carberry, gave the green light for the horse to run after walking the Fairyhouse track yesterday.

The horse's participation was confirmed by Carberry's son Philip: "There hasn't been a bother on Bobbyjo since Aintree and he's in good form. My father walked the course and thought the ground was not too bad at all." said Carberry Jnr, who will ride Bobbyjo's stable companion Native Status in the race.

Good ground will not be good news for Edmond, the Welsh Grand National winner who will be trainer Henry Daly's first runner in Ireland.

He is one of eight British-trained horses set to run, and they are headed by the 9 to 2 favourite Ackzo, who is trained by Wexford-born Ferdy Murphy and ridden by Adrian Magurie, who won the race in 1991 on Omerta. British stables have won the race three times since 1990.

The Fairyhouse manager, Dick Shiel, is predicting "good to yielding" ground for the big race and had consoling words for the Edmond camp when he said: "There will definitely be a cut in the going."