A famous Irish link with the Aintree Grand National is re-established on Saturday when RTE's Tony O'Hehir will be part of BBC Television's commentary team on the great race.

O'Hehir will call the race between the fence before Bechers Brook to Valentines. It will include the famous Foinavon fence, the obstacle after Bechers, where O'Hehir's father, Michael, memorably described the carnage that hit the 1967 Grand National.

O'Hehir has commentated on the National for BBC Radio since 1986, but new arrangements for the television coverage have had to be made since the retirement of Peter O'Sullevan. The Australian race caller, Jim McGrath, will be the voice describing the finish of this year's race. "The National is the one contest in the year when you can't warm into a race commentary," O'Hehir said yesterday. "Each commentator has the horses for a short period of time, but they really come at you. It will be a real stomach churner. I can only imagine how the jockeys will be feeling at the start!"

Meanwhile, Pat Eddery drew a blank when he made his return to action in Britain at Nottingham yesterday to begin chiselling away at another 1,000 winners.

The 11-time champion partnered his 4,000th British winner when John Dunlop's Silver Patriarch took the Pertemps St Leger at Doncaster last September and within days announced his retirement for the season owing to a long-standing back problem.

The following month Eddery underwent an operation to remove a disc from his back before gradually working his way back to race-riding fitness.

Eddery has not given up hope of making a championship dozen. "I'm freelance and I'm going to go out there every day and see what happens," he said.

"I will hopefully ride quite a bit for John Dunlop, Richard Hannon, Brian Meehan, Roger Charlton - the people I have been riding for over the years."

Roy Bowring got off the mark for the Flat turf season by saddling a 26 to 1 double at Nottingham yesterday with Blue Desert and Kustom Kit Kate.Last year's Melbourne Cup winner Might And Power is expected to tackle the Grade One Mercedes Classic at Rosehill in Sydney on Saturday. He will bid to improve on a second in the Ranvet Stakes last time out, having been plagued by a leg problem before that race.Might And Power is expected to renew rivalry with Doriemus, whom he beat by the narrowest of margins in Australia's most famous race last November.