IT'S WICKED

» Stage all set for an Aintree upset » Hanlon: It would be unreal to win, but we're there with a right shout

- DAVID YATES

GRAND NATIONAL punters know better than to confuse an underdog with a no-hoper.

So it's no surprise Hewick, the pocket battleship who cost "the price of a cow" and would measure up to the navel of the old Aintree fences, is firmly on their minds.

The morning after the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the 10-yearold could be backed at 50-1 for the world's most famous steeplechase.

That afternoon, Hewick was back to winning form in a hurdles race at Thurles, and he's now just 9-1 with William Hill.

"He's a little horse - he cost the price of a cow but he's the horse of a lifetime," reflects trainer John Hanlon, affectionately known as 'Shark' - the nickname dating back to his teenage years as a hurdler in Kilkenny.