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A RECORD seven grey horses will run in this year’s Grand National.

The biggest race of the year gets underway at Aintree at 4pm.

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Seven grey horses will run in the Grand National[/caption]

PA

Intense Ruffles is amongst the favourites to win the biggest race of the year[/caption]

It is expected to be a huge day for the bookies – made even bigger by the number of grey horses taking part.

Grey steeds are often popular amongst the public and this could be the year punters get a winner.

Only three greys have ever won the famous contest – The Lamb in 1868, Nicolaus Silver in 1961, and most recently, Neptune Collonges in 2012.

But on Saturday there are high hopes for Intense Raffles, priced amongst the favourites at 9-1, as well as Vanillier (10-1), Kandoo Kid (16-1), and Hyland (20-1).

Outsiders Coko Beach (66-1), Duffle Coat (66-1) and Fil D’Or (80-1) are also bidding to create an upset.

Bookmaker Coral go 5-2 that one of the seven is victorious, 12-1 that there is a grey horse one-two, and 40-1 greys fill the first three places.

Coral’s David Stevens said: “Five is the previous highest number of grey horses running in the Grand National, but that was when there were 40 or more runners, so the seven lining up among the 34 runners this year sets a new record.”

Coral expect up to £150 million to be staked on the National this year, making it six times bigger than the second highest turnover horserace of the year, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, while the race will be watched by the biggest TV audience of the year.

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Stevens added: “With a third of the adult population expected to place a flutter on the big race, and greys always popular with people, we’re bracing ourselves for a flurry of bets on the seven.

“And with four of them among the favourites for the race, a victory for any one of them will make this a grey day for sure for the bookies.”

It has been confirmed 34 horses will take to the field to race more than four miles and 16 fences.

The winner will receive £1million in prize money.

JACK O’CONNOR has paid an emotional tribute to Mick O’Dwyer, insisting the GAA “has a lot to be thankful for”.

The incomparable former Kerry senior football manager sadly died on Thursday at the age of 88.

Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Damien Eagers/Sportsfile

His passing inspired countless tributes to the Waterville man who won four All-Ireland titles as a player and a further eight as manager.

Current Kingdom boss O’Connor has won four Sam Maguires across three spells at the helm.

After the most recent win, in 2022, he paid a visit to ‘Micko’ to present him with the trophy.

Speaking on Morning Ireland, he explained: “I was visiting my parents’ grave at New Chapel Cross which is about a mile from Micko’s house.

“We were so near the house that we decided we’d go down on the off chance he was there.

“We spent a pleasant half an hour with him and my son Cian took a picture.

“It was just with a phone and it happened to win an award for Sports Picture of the Year which was lovely.”

During his time in charge of his native county, O’Dwyer guided them to four All-Ireland titles in a row between 1978 and 1981.

That was followed by three on the bounce between 1984 and 1986.

He went on to spread his iconography across three other counties.

O’Dwyer led Kildare to two Leinster SFC titles, including their first in 42 years in 1998 while he also guided them to the All-Ireland final the same year.

After that, he went to Laois and led them to provincial honours in 2003 while they also got to the final in 2004 and 2005.

O’Dwyer spent five years in charge of Wicklow after that, during which they won the Tommy Murphy Cup, beat Kildare in the Leinster SFC at Croke Park, and got to the last-12 of the All-Ireland series.

His final inter-county management position was with Clare, a role he held for one year.

O’Connor praised his predecessor for driving the standards in gaelic football alongside Kevin Heffernan, whose Dublin team shared a fierce rivalry with Kerry in the 1970s.

He added: “Micko set the standard for all of us and we are only trotting after him.

“The record he had with that team between 1975 and 1988, they won eight All-Irelands in 12 years, sure that will never be matched again.

“Himself and Kevin Heffernan at that time, they just drove the standards of gaelic football to new levels because they were competing against each other.

“Two driven men.

“I think the GAA has an awful lot to be thankful to both of them for and particularly to Micko because he was such a great ambassador to the GAA.

“After leaving Kerry he spread the gospel to other counties like Kildare and Laois and Wicklow and finished up with Clare.

“Just an amazing man.”

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AN AUSTRALIAN man has been jailed for 31 years over the chilling murder of his future Irish son-in-law.

Sligo man Damien Conlon, 38, was set to marry Linda Simon only months after he was killed by her father in 2023.

9 News Australia

9 News Australia

9 News Australia

Army veteran Luke Samouel Simon “lured” Conlon to his home in Oberon, New South Wales, in February 2023 and told him to get on his knees.

The 60-year-old then said “bye bye Damien” before shooting him.

Chilling CCTV footage from the house moments before the murder took place show “intent” to kill, according to the courts.

Simon pleaded guilty to the murder, with his daughter claiming he “had it out” for Conlon as she asked the judge to put her father behind bars.

Justice Sarah McNaughton said: “I’ve viewed the disturbing and chilling video of the final shooting of the already wounded Mr Conlon.

“I note the calm and calculated manner in which the offender shot Mr Conlon, the words ‘bye, bye, Damien’, the tone of his voice, as well as the offender’s multiple admissions to the shooting.”

The court heard that Simon and his daughter had been exchanging text messages in the days leading to the murder regarding their living situation.

He was planning to build a granny flat to live in on a property Conlon and his fiancee were to move into.

Following a letter sent to her father about the state of the house, their relationship took a turn.

On February 9, 2023, Linda had a missed called from her dad at 6.35am and called back at 6.50am.

Simon told her how Conlon’s belongings had been stolen, to which the Sligo man decided to drive and investigate.

CCTV cameras had been placed on various parts of the property, which captured the incident as Conlon arrived.

Simon was seen removing a semi-automatic pistol from his gun safe and loaded it before putting it near his waistband.

CHILLING VIDEO

The footage then recorded Conlon lying on the ground at the front of the property at 7.56am as Simon called emergency services.

He said on the call: “I have just killed my son-in-law, daughter’s boyfriend … I will go outside and wait for police”.

He also noted that he planned the shooting, admitting: “I knew they were going to get me out … I intended to do it.”

The court was told that Simon had created the stolen items story as a way of luring Conlon to the house.

Simon said: “I’m pretty sure my daughter was pulling the strings. Damien bore the brunt of my anger. Tragically, he’s the one that bore the end of it.”

Only two days before the murder, Simon was again picked up on CCTV taking the gun from the safe and saying to himself: “That’s the one that’s going to put him to sleep.”

‘SENSELESS AND VIOLENT’

Conlon moved to Oz in 2011 and had become an Australian citizen during his time there.

He met Linda on a dating app in 2019 and the two went on to have two children together, as well as Linda’s first two from a previous relationship.

Speaking in her victim statement to the court, Linda said her dad could not face Conlon “like a man and have a conversation with him like a human being”.

She also said her father’s acts were “senseless and violent” and he only had “one intention in mind” the day of the murder.

The court heard that despite his time in the Army, the judge was unable to accept Simon’s PTSD diagnosis as being related to the murder.

She also said that his testimony as unreliable and he had shown a lack of remorse.

Linda went on to tell the court that her and Conlon’s children will now grow up without their father there to witness milestones.

She also added that she spoke to Conlon’s parents Dermot and Ethel in Ireland, saying they “struggle daily” to accept their son was killed.

‘JUSTICE HE DESERVES’

Linda said she will “replay these tragic event for the rest of my life” as she urged the judge to “give Damien the justice he deserves” by putting his “killer behind bars”.

Conlon and Linda were set to marry in November last year with the wedding planned and paid for ahead of his sudden death.

Speaking at they time of his death, a relative, who didn’t want to be named, said the family were left in shock following the murder.

They told the Irish Examiner: “He was a very nice guy, nobody could have anything bad to say about him.

“He was quiet, respectful, and a good bit of craic as well. We’re all in shock.”

9 News Australia

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