'It's time to pull our socks up' - Olly Murphy readying strong team for Aintree

Olly Murphy kept the best of his stable stars away from the Cheltenham Festival with an eye on Aintree, and he hopes a squad of around a dozen can inspire the fightback from British-trained runners having been dominated by their Irish counterparts last week.

Murphy took just five runners to the festival, but he plans to send a enviable team to Merseyside, headed by live Grade 1 Betway Aintree Hurdle contender Brewin'upastorm, while Itchy Feet and Thomas Darby are other notable contenders.

Murphy, speaking at Ludlow after his eighth winner of the week, said: "I've got plenty to go to war with at Aintree. I think we all had a kick up the backside at Cheltenham – jockeys, trainers, owners and everyone involved – so I think it's time to pull our socks up, stop complaining and get on with the whole thing.

"It's a little bit different for me – and it's not an excuse – as I've got young horses and you can only run them so much. I haven't got a lot of horses that can run in Graded races at the moment, so I'm biding my time a bit hoping to have more in the better races next season. I think as a whole we have to buck our ideas up and get going at these sales so we can put things right.

"I think I'll have a dozen at Aintree and we're going there with some real nice chances, so hopefully we'll end the season on a high."

Brewin'upastorm is considered Murphy's best chance of the week having been revitalised since being sent back over hurdles. The eight-year-old has enjoyed back-to-back wins over the smaller obstacles, including in the National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell last month.

Brewin'upastorm: going for Grade 1 glory at AintreeCredit: Steve Davies

When asked if he was the main hope of the dozen, Murphy answered: "100 per cent. Hopefully he'll have improved for a couple of runs over hurdles. We missed Cheltenham, we've got a bit of spring ground and he'll go there a fresh horse."

Grade 1 winning novice chaser Itchy Feet is also back over hurdles and will target the Ryanair Stayers' Hurdle, while seven-and-a-half-length debut winner Go Dante is another smart prospect.

"Itchy Feet missed Cheltenham with this in mind – he's on a bit of a revival mission," Murphy added.

"Go Dante will run in the bumper, we like him, while the Coral Cup was a complete disaster for Thomas Darby and he'll run in either the three-mile handicap or Grade 1, I'm not sure yet."

Olly Murphy trainer details

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