Forward Plan will bid for a third big pot of the season at the Grand National meeting in April.

Anthony Honeyball admits to have been taken aback by just how effective the eight-year-old has been this term, winning a good prize at Doncaster and then being beaten a nose in the Great Yorkshire Chase before winning the £150,000 Coral Trophy at Kempton.

He now has his sights set on the £100,000 William Hill Handicap Chase on Grand National day at Aintree on the 13th of April, a race the yard has fond memories of.

Planning forward

“Forward Plan goes to Aintree for the race Sam Brown won two years ago,” said Honeyball.

“When Sam won it, it was the race before the National so we had an hour in the winning connections room, but the only thing was we probably didn’t get much exposure as they went straight into the build-up for the National!

“Forward Plan has been a cracking little horse, he’s picked up about £120,000. We’ve dared to dream chucking him in big handicaps and he has kept on delivering.

“Last season we thought he had won his Gold Cup in a £20,000 race at Southwell but he has just improved and improved this season.

“The Badger Ales was a good place to start but the ground was softer than he liked, then he won a nice race at Doncaster and in between Doncaster and his Kempton wins he was beaten a nose in the Great Yorkshire Chase.

“Arguably the best ride Ben (Godfrey) has given him was that one too as everyone was sure the winner, Annual Invictus, had gone off too fast so he ignored him for much of the race, he beat the rest easily but to be fair to the winner he just found that little bit extra.

“The race at Kempton was worth more than the Ultima and there wasn’t one Irish entry. They probably think it comes too close to Cheltenham.

“He looked beaten two out, he’d lost his position down the back straight but he flew home. If he can win a third big pot it would be great, we’ll try and go to Aintree and if not it will be Punchestown.”