Ruby Walsh will ride Kauto Star while Turpin Green will be another contender.

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Ruby Walsh kicked for home on Fionnegas round the final bend but O'Connell was motionless as he drew alongside and cruised home to win by two and a half lengths.

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Earlier in the afternoon another veteran jockey, Ruby Walsh, suffered a fall in the Aintree Hurdle, ruling him out of the Grand National, where he had been due to ride On My Own.

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The champion trainer insists that Kauto Star, who lifted a third King George VI Chase trophy at Christmas, is the one to beat, but there is a glaring statistic against the 2007 Gold Cup winner, as Ruby Walsh once again takes the ride.

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But the Walsh family was still well-represented in the race, with the third-placed Seabass ridden by Ruby's sister Katie and trained by their father Ted.

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