Brian Hughes will partner Ahoy Senor in Thursday’s Alder Hey Aintree Bowl with Derek Fox still recuperating from injury.
Fox has ridden the gelding in all of his starts under rules but a fall from Rowdy Rustler at Wetherby on April 6 has aggravated an existing shoulder problem.
The ride on Corach Rambler in the Randox Grand National takes priority for Fox, who has therefore opted not to ride Ahoy Senor in order to give himself the best shot at recovery before Saturday.
Speaking to the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, Lucinda Russell, trainer of both horses, said: “Derek had a fall at Wetherby, he’s got a problem with his shoulder and that seems to have flared up again.
“He’s just a little bit sore. Corach Rambler in the National, off the weight that he’s got, that’s the aim for the whole year. I think he’s going to have to look after himself and just get himself right for that race.
Ahoy Senor and Derek Fox (Tim Goode/PA)
“It does unfortunately mean he won’t be able to ride Ahoy Senor in the Bowl, but we’ve got a very able substitute in Brian Hughes who has actually been in today and schooled him, everything went really well.
“It’s a bit of a shame for Derek but I think he’s doing the right thing and we’ve got to be sensible about it and as I say, Corach Rambler off 10st 5lb in the National has to be his aim.”
Russell and her assistant and partner Peter Scudamore have supported Fox in the decision and the trainer remains positive about his ability to take the Corach Rambler ride – though Hughes has also schooled that horse and could step in should Fox not be fit to partake.
“We’re very close here as a team, we’ve been talking about it the whole way through and it’s a decision that Derek has made that we’ve helped with,” she said.
“Scu and myself have discussed it, we had a long conversation yesterday about it and I think it’s really hard for him. It’s killing him not to ride Ahoy Senor but it’s the right thing to do. It’s a wise decision and I’m right behind him all the way, I support him totally in that decision.”
Donald McCain’s Minella Trump (Tim Goode/PA)
She went on: “It has to be said that Brian also schooled Corach over the National fences this morning. That would be a contingency plan but I’m pretty sure in my own mind, I’d say 98.99 per cent sure, that Derek will be riding him on Saturday and that he’ll be fit to do that.”
Hughes will available to ride Corach Rambler if needed as he will not be required aboard Minella Trump for Donald McCain, for whom he is stable jockey.
Theo Gillard is instead booked to ride the horse, a decision made irrespective of Hughes’ status as understudy to Fox on Saturday.
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Bravemansgame has been cleared to run in the Alder Hey Aintree Bowl Chase at Aintree on Thursday.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up was previously owned in partnership by John Dance and Bryan Drew, but the latter is now listed as the sole owner of the eight-year-old.
Dance founded Vertem Asset Management, a prominent sponsor within racing, but that firm is one of three trading names of WealthTek LLP, which was last week ordered to cease trading by the Financial Conduct Authority due to “serious regulatory and operational issues coming to light”.
A spokesperson for the British Horseracing Authority said: “The BHA can confirm that Bravemansgame will be able to take his place in the Alder Hey Aintree Bowl Chase having been declared in the sole ownership of Mr Bryan Drew.
“We continue to liaise with Mr Dance and relevant authorities regarding the FCA’s ongoing investigation.”
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Constitution Hill is set to face five rivals when he puts his unbeaten record and huge reputation on the line in the William Hill Aintree Hurdle on Thursday.
Nicky Henderson’s charge cemented his superstar status when making it six from six under rules with a stunning display in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham last month.
The six-year-old will be prohibitive odds to crown his season with a first victory over two and a half miles before connections decide whether to pursue a chasing career next term.
🏆 Constitution Hill absolutely storms home to win the Unibet Champion Hurdle!
Top-class mare Epatante won last year’s Aintree Hurdle for Henderson and while she was no match for her esteemed stablemate in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle or the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton earlier this season, she takes him on again in defence of her crown.
Gordon Elliott’s Zanahiyr and the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained I Like To Move It, third and sixth in the Champion Hurdle, also renew rivalry with Constitution Hill.
The Willie Mullins-trained Sharjah and Alan King’s admirable veteran Sceau Royal, who is fitted with cheek pieces for the first time, complete the sextet.
Six runners are also set to go to post for the preceding Alder Hey Aintree Bowl, four of which contested last month’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Bravemansgame winning the King George VI Chase at Kempton (John Walton/PA)
Bravemansgame finished best of the rest behind Galopin Des Champs in the blue riband and bids to go one better for champion trainer Paul Nicholls.
Lucinda Russell saddles Gold Cup faller Ahoy Senor, who will be ridden by champion jockey Brian Hughes in the absence of his regular partner Derek Fox, while Elliott’s Gold Cup third Conflated and Henry de Bromhead’s A Plus Tard – last year’s Gold Cup winner but pulled up this time around – travel from Ireland.
It will be fascinating to see how Henderson’s Shishkin fares on his first attempt at three miles after his staying-on second in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham.
Jamie Snowden’s Ryanair fifth Ga Law is the other runner.
⭐ Stage Star upstages them all in the Turners Novices' Chase
The first of four Grade Ones on the first day of the Grand National meeting is the Racehorse Lotto Manifesto Novices’ Chase, which sees Joseph O’Brien’s Cheltenham absentee Banbridge lock horns with the Nicholls-trained Stage Star, who won the Turners’ Novices’ Chase at the Festival.
Saint Roi (Willie Mullins), Straw Fan Jack (Sheila Lewis) and Visionarian (Peter Fahey) are also set to to go to post.
Eleven four-year-olds have been declared for the Jewson Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle, with the Mullins-trained Zenta setting the standard on her third placed finish in the Triumph at Cheltenham.
Gary Moore’s pair of Bo Zenith and Perseus Way, O’Brien’s Nusret, the Milton Harris-trained Scriptwriter and Greyval from Fergal O’Brien’s yard all sidestepped the Festival and appear the biggest dangers to the Irish challenger.
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Bob Davies went to Aintree 45 years ago believing he would not swap his mount for any other in the Grand National – including the mighty Red Rum – and his confidence proved spot-on.
Much of the build-up ahead of the Grand National on April 1, 1978, had surrounded Red Rum’s bid for a fourth win in the race.
Fate took a hand on that overcast, chilly day. The nation’s favourite horse, already pushing 13 years of age, was withdrawn on the morning of the race with a hairline fracture sustained the previous day.
Lucius, trained in Cumbria by Gordon Richards, was to prove one of the greatest spare rides in history.
“Dave Goulding had hurt his back and I was at Wetherby on the Tuesday before the National,” said Davies.
“Ron Barry asked me if I had a ride in the National. He said Lucius was going spare and asked, ‘Do you want me to ring Gordon for you?’.
“When I looked though Lucius’ form and saw what he’d done, I would not have chosen any other horse in the race, including Red Rum.
“Lucius’ best distance was two and half (miles), but he’d won over three. I always believed back then that a National would be won by a horse who was best over two and a half or three, than a horse who had won the Eider or a Welsh National over three-six or four miles.
“If someone had given me a choice of riding a horse who won the Mackeson (now known as the Paddy Power Gold Cup), or a horse that won the Welsh National, I would take the one that won the Mackeson every single time.”
Bob Davies would not swap any of his three titles for his National win (PA)
Riding the nine-year-old for the first time, in one of the race’s tightest-ever finishes, Davies’ mount prevailed by a half a length from Sebastian, with Drumroan a staying-on neck further back in third.
“It was a close National. But the thing with him was he couldn’t be in front too soon,” said Davies
“I knew during the race Gordon was getting wild, because he was a lot closer than he wanted me to be. I was always close to the front of the field.”
Having taken the lead following the fall of the much-fancied Tied Cottage on the first circuit, Davies tucked Lucius behind Sebastian, ridden by Ridley Lamb, who was in receipt of 8lb.
With Lord Browndodd, The Pilgarlic, Coolishall and Drumroan all still in with chance two out, Sebastian got away better from both the penultimate and the final fences.
Though Lucius lost a little momentum over the last and was briefly relegated to third by the Coolishall, Lucius kept responding and when the Fiona Whitaker-owned gelding got his head in front just after the elbow, the writing was on the wall.
Lucius and Bob Davies after their 1978 Grand National triumph (PA)
“He was never going to do too much, although in the race, in some respects, he was doing too much probably,” added Davies.
“He was only 14-1 anyway. I had no worries going round. He hit the third, but that was all.
“I only ever sat on Lucius twice, once in the National and once when he was photographed for the Schweppes calendar!”
A year earlier, when Red Rum had won his third National, Duffle Coat had sent Davies crashing to the turf at the first fence, one of only seven rides he had in the world’s most famous race.
“It took me a while to jump all the fences there,” he added. “I think I finally jumped all the fences when I rode Specify at the November meeting. Otherwise I had not jumped the fences between Becher’s Brook and Valentine’s.”
On this day in 1978, three lengths covered the first five in the National, won by the Gordon Richards-trained Lucius. pic.twitter.com/XabFiZDSGE
Davies, now 76, almost won it again with another spare ride the following year when the Nicky Henderson-trained Zongalero was beaten up the run-in by Rubstic, providing Scotland with a first win in the race.
“Zongalero was actually fantastic round there. He didn’t like it the second year, but the first year he was brilliant.
“I have a photograph of him jumping Becher’s and there is about six inches of daylight between his belly and the fence. He never even nodded,” said Davies.
Though riding a Grand National winner is the pinnacle for most jump jockeys, Shropshire farmer’s son Davies “would not swap it” for any of his three championships, sharing it with Terry Biddlecombe in 1968-69, before winning it outright the following season, then again in 1971-72.
“Everyone wants to be champion jockey,” Davies added. “Back then, no yards had more than 50 or 60 horses. That was a big yard.
Rubstic (left), ridden by Maurice Barnes, and Zongalero, partnered by Bob Davies, take the last fence together in the 1979 National (PA)
“Then you had Martin Pipe and, for a while, whoever was going to be riding for him was going to become champion jockey, just on the numbers game.”
Training regimens have changed and while Aintree will always hold a special place in Davies’ heart, some alterations to the big race itself he does not agree with.
“It changed a lot from when I first rode there to when I won the National. When I started, there was very little apron,” he explained,
“The take-off board was back and the fence was straight up. Then more slope and apron was put on.
“The fences have been modified so much now that they are park fences, basically.
A shot of the old Becher’s Brook (PA)
“The horses who jumped the National fences well, generally speaking, backed off into them.
“You didn’t get horses galloping in and taking them on a long stride generally.
“If you watched Red Rum go round there, he shortened into every fence. It has made a hell of a difference to how the race is run.”
Ludlow has been transformed over the years by Davies and his team (David Davies/PA)
Davies retired from riding in 1982 and soon became one of the first professional jockeys to go into racecourse management, initially as an assistant clerk of the course at Ludlow and Bangor, before taking over permanently in 1984.
“I was at Ludlow for 35 years. We spent a lot of money there without any debt, effectively. We nearly rebuilt it,” he added.
Having retired in 2018, Davies still enjoys helping his successor Simon Sherwood with race planning when he’s not tending his 14-acre garden in Herefordshire.
“Ultimately, we wanted to get people to enjoy it and have a nice day out – that’s the important thing. I’ve enjoyed it and have been lucky enough that I’ve done my hobby all my working life.”
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Ryan Mania knows all about Randox Grand National glory and he looks to an ally close to home as he bids to mark the 10th anniversary of his greatest triumph in the saddle with a second victory in the world’s most famous steeplechase.
In April 2013 a 23-year-old Mania strode into the Aintree paddock and climbed aboard the unfancied 66-1 shot Auroras Encore for what would be his first taste of the marathon four-and-a-quarter-mile contest.
Nine minutes and 12 seconds later the duo would return National heroes as Sue Smith’s seasoned handicapper gave the Scotsman the defining moment in his fledgling riding career, sauntering to a nine-length success.
Remarkably that remains Mania’s sole victory at the Merseyside venue from 50 rides at the track and although the memories are somewhat hazy a decade on, he will always fondly recall both Liverpool and the horse that shot him to prominence.
Did you have a lucky flutter on 66/1-shot Auroras Encore in 2013?
“It was a very very good day, but it’s like a distant memory now,” he said.
“You get little flashbacks every now and then, but it has felt like that ever since. It was a big thing to happen at the time, but it kind of goes by in a flash and it’s hard to imagine that it actually happened to you.
“It’s actually the only winner I’ve ever had at Aintree but every time I go there, it feels like a special place because of that one day.
“There is always a buzz and great atmosphere there and I love going back there whether it’s just for a normal meeting or the big meeting – it’s always a good place to go.”
He went on: “You can’t put it into words what Auroras Encore means to me, the horse is very very special to me and always will be – I even named my daughter after him.
Auroras Encore (right) ridden by Ryan Mania clears the Open Ditch before going on to win the Grand National (Anna Gowthorpe/PA)
“To achieve something like that – the race maybe might be not the same these days – but even back when I won it, it really was a pure test of horse and rider and how you bonded with your horse and managed to navigate the course. We will always have that special connection.”
Plenty of water has crossed under the bridge in the ensuing 10 years and Mania’s struggles with the scales saw him looking for the weighing-room exit and heading into temporary retirement less than 18 months after his Aintree success in November 2014.
In fact the highs and lows of a jockey’s job description were on show less than 24 hours after his finest moment when a crushing fall at Hexham, followed by an unforgiving boot from a trailing horse, saw him airlifted to hospital with neck and back injuries.
“That was really strange, that seemed to highlight me as a person more than the National – it seemed to be in the press more than the win was,” recalled Mania. “It was definitely back down to earth with a thud.”
Having become the first Scottish jockey for 117 years to win the race in 2013, he will now attempt to help his step father-in-law, Sandy Thomson, become just the third Scottish trainer to taste Grand National glory aboard Hill Sixteen.
Hill Sixteen (left) fights out the finish of the 2021 Becher Chase at Aintree with Charlie Longsdon’s Snow Leopardess (right) (Tim Goode/PA)
Although the Scottish Saltire is well-represented this year with race favourite Corach Rambler, Hill Sixteen has proven course form having finished second in the Becher Chase previously and the rider believes he could sneak into the frame given ease in the ground on Merseyside.
“It’s a very different race these days and it is looking more and more like you need a graded horse to win whereas back when I won it, he was just a very good handicapper,” continued Mania.
“It’s getting increasingly hard to find that horse that is going to win, but we’ll always be trying and Hill Sixteen – if it comes up soft we would have a realistic chance, but if it is dry we might struggle a little bit.
“Touch wood he’s very good round there and he’s your old-fashioned chaser. He’s big and he’s slow. He’s got a touch of class which is great, but he could really do with a touch of soft ground just to slow it all down. I think the problem with making the fences a lot smaller these days is the horses tend to go quicker and you need a horse with a lot of speed in the National now.”
Although his victory on Auroras Encore will be difficult to top, Mania thinks it would be “extra special” to enjoy Aintree glory in conjunction with his family, while the 34-year-old also tips his hat to the 10-year-old’s owner Jimmy Fyffe – the Dundee businessman who is a huge supporter of racing north of the border.
Hill Sixteen’s trainer Sandy Thomson is Ryan Mania step father-in-law (John Giles/PA)
He continued: “It would be extra special to win it again because it’s not just Sandy, it’s my mother-in-law and my wife – it’s a family operation. Now with having kids the whole family aspect of it would make it pretty special. I’m not sure I can put into words what it would mean, but it would be huge anyway.
“It’s the owner’s dream as well. He is a great supporter of racing in general and he’s mad keen for a runner in the National so it’s great for him to go there with a horse that on paper has a chance and one I would genuinely fancy to go close if there was soft ground.”
Hill Sixteen is set to carry just 10st 2lb – 3lb lower than Mania’s lowest riding weight during the last 12 months.
He has employed the help of a dietician to help him in his quest and insists, far from having an issue with his weight, he simply refuses to use some of the age-old methods commonly used to strip back the pounds.
“The only time I would have problems with something like that is if a few days before a ride someone says ‘oh you’ve got this light weight to do’,” he explained.
“But because I’ve had plenty of time I’m able to get the weight down safely and remain strong and fit so I don’t foresee any issues.
“I’ve had a dietician before but I’m working with someone again now. Just someone on the end of a phone to make sure you are hitting your goals and having that accountably to make sure you are doing the right thing and keeping you on the right path.”
He continued: “I effectively don’t have a weight issue, I just refuse to sweat. I refuse to lie in the bath or go in the sauna and do too much sweating. So when they say you need to do light I’m happy to say ‘no, I’m not putting myself through that’. That’s the reason behind it and I try to do everything healthily and properly.
“I would have been one of them a few years ago, but you get a bit older and you learn something with age and experience and that’s one of them.”
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Incredibly it is 50 years since perhaps the most famous Grand National of them all, when Crisp was agonisingly reeled in by Red Rum in the dying strides in 1973.
Perhaps because it was the first Grand National shown in colour on television, perhaps because no horse had ever attacked the four and a half miles and 30 fences quite like Crisp or perhaps because it was the start of Red Rum’s Aintree odyssey, that day on March 31, 1973 is etched into racing folklore.
There is an argument for even saying the race was such a thrilling spectacle it helped secure its long-term future. Aintree racecourse had been under threat with a housing company buying the land but unable to get planning permission before the Jockey Club bought it off them – with help from the public.
Crisp was out on his own in his native Australia and having won all there was to win there, his adventurous owner Sir Chester Manifold took the brave decision to send him to England to see what he was really made of.
🐴 Let's join them on the second circuit of the 1973 Grand National.
In the care of Fred Winter, he carried all before him, going on to win the 1971 Champion Chase over two miles with ease and the following season he was aimed at the Gold Cup but, held up to preserve his stamina, he sulked and finished fifth.
Despite this, Winter targeted the 1973 Grand National. In those days it did not seem as far-fetched as it would if Energumene were lining up this season, with the theory two-milers ran well in it due to the pace of the race.
Crisp was to be ridden by Richard Pitman, who went on to have a highly successful career in broadcasting.
Sent off a 9-1 joint-favourite with Red Rum, Crisp was conceding a whopping 23lb to Ginger McCain’s runner – a task that now looked nigh on impossible given what Red Rum went on to achieve.
That he came so close to doing so is perhaps why Crisp has gone down in folklore.
The unforgettable Crisp with Richard Pitman the morning of the 1973 Grand National pic.twitter.com/w7kOWF4itP
“In those days it seemed that every Grand National was going to be the last. The Topham family had sold Aintree to a building company but it was the popularity of Red Rum, in the end, which made the fundraising by the Jockey Club that much easier,” said Pitman, now 80.
“All the purists, and they’d be right, would say a two-mile Champion Chase winner with 12st over four and a half miles should be dropped out to conserve energy. That would be correct theoretically, but me and Fred spoke about it and with 40 in front of you, some not great jumpers, and him being so enthusiastic over fences, he’d be bound jump into one.
“The plan was to jump off down the inside, where the brave men go. Fred was a big fan of that because after Becher’s it starts to turn, you save so much ground if you are on the inner and then you can’t get pushed wide.
“I wanted to slow the race down from the front, which you can do as a senior jockey, but in practice that theory didn’t work as Crisp was so enthusiastic. I’ve faced a lot of criticism for this ride for the last 50 years, and I take most of it, but those who say I shouldn’t have made the running I find hard to take as it was our plan.
“People also thought he was running away with me, but he never was. When he saw a fence he quickened of his own volition, so with every fence he gained ground.”
Grey Sombrero had narrowly led for the first mile but when he fell at The Chair, Crisp was left with a yawning lead that only grew bigger.
“From that moment on I couldn’t hear the others,” said Pitman. “It was another circuit before I heard anything.
“That experience, totally isolated, was strange because of the lack of sound. Every National I’d ridden in, with 40 runners, the sounds were all around you – horses exhaling, hitting fences, jockeys shouting, the sound of hooves – there was just nothing.
“Looking down that line of six fences to Becher’s is a marvellous sight and to do it on a horse who loved every minute of it, it was such a joy and a pleasure. You’d always see amusing sights on the inside, for instance there was one jockey just holding a bridle – no horse!
“It was unique on that second circuit, in silence, but then I heard Michael O’Hehir, the commentator on the PA system say ‘and Crisp is 25 lengths clear, Red Rum is coming out of the pack but Fletcher is kicking him’ and I just thought ‘that’ll do me’ so I just sat and held him.
“I then saw David Nicholson on the inside track, his horse (Highland Seal) was picking grass while he sat there with his arms folded! The Duke, as we called him as he was rather grand, said ‘Richard, you’re actually 33 lengths clear, kick on and you will win’ but that was exactly what I wasn’t going to do because I needed to save every ounce.”
Red Rum jumps the last with Crisp now well in his sights (PA)
Over the second-last and the gap was still 10 lengths or more, but on the run to the last Crisp’s stride notably began to shorten and Brian Fletcher sensed his chance.
Then came the crucial moment to which Pitman has always admitted. With the elbow fast approaching, Pitman picked up his whip in his right hand to offer encouragement, but Crisp was so tired he veered to the left, losing all momentum.
“He literally went from feeling strong in my hands on jumping the second-last, to a few strides later I could tell he was coming to the end of his tether. Jumping the last I could hear Red Rum for the first time,” said Pitman.
“It was fast ground that day you could could hear the horses hooves, ‘drmmm drmmm, drmmm drmmm’ but Red Rum had flappy nostrils, so when he exhaled there would be a ‘pwwwrrr, pwwwrrr’ and I can still hear those sounds chasing me now ‘drmmm drmmm, pwwwrrr pwwwrr’.
“We were running in treacle, we were going forwards, but it was hard work and then I made the mistake that I’ve been paying for for 50 years, which was I thought I needed to wake him up so I picked my whip up with my right hand and he immediately fell away to the left, when I needed him to go right at the elbow.
“It was a stupid, boyish error. I should have kept two hands on the reins, got him to the elbow and then used the whip if I needed to.”
On reaching the elbow, Crisp was on an even keel once more but Red Rum had built up a head of steam and with a furlong to run, the result looked inevitable.
“I lost all momentum. I reckon it cost me two lengths and we lost by three-quarters. That run-in is 494 yards and I remember every one of them. Brian Fletcher was very clever because he didn’t make his challenge close to me, just in case Crisp had anything left to fight back,” said Pitman.
“The desolation changed to euphoria within a minute, I promise you. I was exhilarated with the ride I’d had, it was the most exciting thing I’d ever done.
“Fred never criticised me, in public or private. It wasn’t until a few weeks later we were on our way home from Plumpton, I used to drive him while he used to sleep, but this day he opened one eye and said ‘You know why you got beat, don’t you?’ I said ‘Yep’. He said ‘Well, there’s no point discussing it then’. He was a great man.”
Crisp only ran once more, at level weights against Red Rum at Doncaster. Crisp won easily but picked up an injury in doing so and was retired, but he did enjoy a few years hunting afterwards.
Following his death in a hunting accident, he was buried at his then-owner’s estate where they planted a cherry tree over him which blossoms around Grand National time every year.
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1 – Rachael Blackmore is the only woman to have ridden a Grand National winner – on Minella Times in 2021.
2 – Dual winners of the National are not a complete rarity over the years, with nine horses having won the race twice – most recently Tiger Roll in 2019.
3 – Red Rum is the only horse to have won the race three times, in 1973, 74 and 77.
4 – Ginger McCain, Red Rum’s trainer, was also successful with Amberleigh House in 2004 meaning he shares the record with Fred Rimell and George Dockeray for the most wins in the race at four.
5 – The number of times George Stevens rode the winner of the Grand National – Free Trader (1856), Emblem (1863), Emblematic (1864) and The Colonel (1869 and 1870) – the most of any jockey.
6 – 6-1 was the SP of 1920 winner Troytown, who has a handicap chase named after him at Navan.
7 – The minimum age of a horse allowed to run in the National is seven.
8 – Jonjo O’Neill trained 2010 winner Don’t Push It, but had eight rides in the race and never completed the course.
9 – Most common age of the winner. 46 of 174 runnings (with a winning age recorded).
10 – In 2010 the 10-year-old Don’t Push It won as the 10-1 joint-favourite
11 – Gordon Elliott saddled 11 runners in 2019.
12 – Peter Scudamore, champion jockey eight times, had 12 rides in the race without winning.
13 – Total number of mares to win the race. Charity (1841), Miss Mowbray (1852), Anatis (1860), Jealousy (1861), Emblem (1863), Emblematic (1864), Casse Tete (1872), Empress (1880), Zoedone (1883), Frigate (1889), Shannon Lass (1902), Sheila’s Cottage (1948) and Nickel Coin (1951).
14 – Hedgehunter won by 14 lengths in 2005 to give Willie Mullins his first win in the race and Ruby Walsh his second.
15 – It took Sir Anthony McCoy 15 attempts before finally winning the National on Don’t Push It.
16 – Manifesto, who ran in the race eight times, winning twice, made his final appearance at the age of 16 in 1904.
17 – Bruce Hobbs is the youngest jockey to win the National on Battleship in 1938.
18 – In 2018 Tiger Roll won the first of his two Grand Nationals. The Covid-19 pandemic denied him the chance to win a third.
19 – In 1919 the shortest-priced winner of the race Poethlyn (11-4) won.
20 – Tom Scudamore rode in the race 20 times before his recent retirement and was never placed.
21 – Champion jockey Richard Johnson had 21 rides in the race without winning. The closest he came was What’s Up Boys (2002) and Balthazar King (2014) who were both second.
22 – In 2022 amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen announced his ride on Noble Yeats would be the last of his career, and promptly went and won it.
23 – The largest number to complete the course in 1984 when Hello Dandy won
24 – Bobbyjo became the first Irish winner for 24 years when providing father and son Tommy and Paul Carberry with a famous success.
25 – Rubstic, the first of only two Grand National winners trained in Scotland in 1979 was returned at 25-1. One For Arthur (Lucinda Russell) is the other.
26 – In 1926 Jack Horner won, ridden by Tasmanian-born William (Billy) Watkinson. Sadly Watkinson died in a fall at Bogside just three weeks later.
27 – The first radio commentary was on the BBC in 1927, the race was won by Sprig.
28 – In 1928 the smallest number of finishers completed the course when just two came home with Tipperary Tim winning.
29 – In 1929 the biggest ever field went to post, 66.
30 – There are 30 fences on the Grand National course.
31 – Philip Hobbs has had 31 runners in the race without a winner.
32 – Tom Rimell won in 1932 with 50-1 chance Forbra. Tom’s son, Fred, went on to train four Grand National winners.
33 – Carrie Ford was 33 when, in 2005, she finished fifth on Forest Gunner – the highest placing for a female rider at that time.
34 – Golden Miller became the first and so far only horse to win the Gold Cup and Grand National in the same year.
35 – Former actress Mirabel Topham becomes a director of Tophams Ltd and remained in control of Aintree until its sale in 1973.
36 – Reynoldstown, ridden by Fulke Walwyn and trained and owned by Noel Furlong, win the second of his two Grand Nationals in 1936.
37 – King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Aintree for the first time in the Coronation year of 1937, with Royal Mail an apt winner. Queen Elizabeth would later see her own Devon Loch snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in 1956.
38 – In 1838 the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase attracted just three runners. It was one of three unofficial precursors of the official Grand National.
39 – Lottery is classed as the winner of the first Grand National in 1839 for historical purposes. The race was renamed the Grand National in 1847.
40 – The maximum number of runners in the Grand National.
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For a horse who has won a Grand National trial, two of the most competitive handicap chases in Ireland, finished third in the Welsh National and was in front of Galopin Des Champs when falling two out in the Irish Gold Cup, The Big Dog heads to Aintree under the radar.
Trained by Peter Fahey in Monasterevin, County Kildare, the 10-year-old has taken time to mature but was in the process of running a career-best by some distance at the Dublin Racing Festival.
That he tipped up when still going well adds to the intrigue. Had he stood up and finished a respectable third or fourth to subsequent Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs, everyone would know just where he stood in the pecking order.
The fact he fell when still apparently going well leaves us all guessing as to where he would have finished – a far cry from when he left the Cheltenham sales ring unsold in April 2017.
“He was with Aidan Fitzgerald as a young horse and he went over to the sales at Cheltenham after one run in a point-to-point, but it didn’t work out and the lads (Damien and Colin Kelly) decided to put him into training with me – which worked out great for me,” said Fahey.
“He won a bumper for us. It gave the boys their first winner on the track. He’d run well in his first bumper behind Carefully Selected, so we knew we had something to play with.
“You could see by looking at him he was a chaser, he did win a maiden hurdle and then he went on to be second in the Red Mills Final at Punchestown after that, but it was always the plan to go chasing the following season.
“Unfortunately he picked up an injury which kept him off the track that year. He was a very lightly-raced horse, but he was a big horse, so he was only ever going to improve with racing.”
While connections never feel it at the time, there are occasions when a season on the sidelines benefits a horse, especially one as big as The Big Dog.
“He ran some good races when we finally did get him out over fences and of course he then went and won the Grand National Trial at Punchestown on his last run of the year (February 2021),” added Fahey.
“We were happy he showed us that day that he was going to be a horse good enough to run in the big handicaps, but at that stage you are only dreaming that he’s a horse for the National.
“He was improving away the whole time, but you only expected that really because he was a very big horse.”
However, last season was very definitely a bump in the road. The Welsh National was his big aim and while he was beaten a long way in his first two outings, Fahey headed to Chepstow with confidence, but luck was not with the Irish on this occasion.
The Big Dog made an early blunder which sent the reins over his head and jockey Johnny Burke had no option but to pull him up.
The Big Dog jumped the last almost upsides in the Welsh National but eventually 12st took its toll (David Davies/PA)
“Last year we were trying to mind him with the Welsh National in mind. He went over for that and of course we were unlucky. When he came back he wasn’t disgraced in the National Trial again, but he was never quite right after it so we finished his season there. He came back a better horse for a longer break,” said Fahey.
He certainly did. By winning the Munster National at Limerick and the Troytown at Navan, he pocketed over €100,000 for connections and in the process earned a big enough rise in the ratings that Aintree suddenly became an option.
“He started this year by winning the Munster National and then won the Troytown off 8lb higher. They’d be two of the most competitive handicap chases in Ireland. To win both of them very well was great,” said Fahey.
Fahey still had an itch to scratch in Wales and The Big Dog went closer this time, beaten just over six lengths into third by The Two Amigos carrying 12st in soft ground.
But it was his most recent outing that caught the eye.
“I actually think he was running a career-best at Leopardstown last time out when he tipped up,” said Fahey.
“Keith (Donoghue) came back that day and said he couldn’t believe how easy he was going. I know the race quickened up from that point on, but he was on the front end and looked like he was going to pick up.
“To make sure he didn’t remember that, he had a school around Navan in early March and that went very well. Yogi Breisner has also been over to give him a school over poles, so everything is in place. The fall at Leopardstown hasn’t knocked his confidence at all.
“He’d always been a careful jumper but it was uncharacteristic of him to fall, hopefully that’s all behind us and we can look forward to him running a huge race at Aintree.
“Belfast Banter is my only Grade One winner to date but that was at Aintree, things like that certainly don’t hurt, hopefully this lad can put in a huge run for us.”
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Trainer Emmet Mullins is still coming to terms with last year’s Randox Grand National success as he prepares Noble Yeats in his bid for back-to-back victories in the Aintree spectacular.
Mullins is of course from a family steeped in racing history, from his late grandfather Paddy to his training trio of uncles Tom, Tony and, most notably, the legendary Willie Mullins.
Emmet, who took out his training licence in 2015, trains just a stone’s throw from the latter’s huge operation at Closutton and spent a number of years riding for him before retiring from the saddle.
He enjoyed his fair share of success as a jockey, including a Cheltenham Festival victory aboard Sir Des Champs. But he is modest in assessing his riding ability.
Noble Yeats at Emmet Mullins’ yard (The Jockey Club)
“I don’t know if the scales would let me be a jockey, that was one part of the battle, but I wasn’t good enough,” he said.
“I suppose at the time there were 90 less horses in Willie’s, Ruby Walsh was number one, Paul Townend was number two and David Casey was probably still riding at the time.
“I was too far down the list and wasn’t doing as well as I’d have liked. I decided to retire and change and do something that I could potentially do better.
“I’d say there’s no doubt every one of the Mullins’ is different and an individual. There’s definitely something I’ve taken from every one of them and you put in your own bit and make it work.”
It did not take Mullins long to make an impact on the training scene, with St Stephens Green and Zero Ten a couple of his early flag-bearers.
Robert Waley-Cohen with the Grand National trophy (Brian Lawless/PA)
The 2020/21 season brought notable success at Cheltenham with The Shunter, but those winners pale into significance following his life-changing success on Merseyside last April.
Noble Yeats was still a novice when he lined up for the Grand National.
But he had shown bits and pieces of form to give him a chance, including a runner-up finish to star novice Ahoy Senor in the Grade Two Towton at Wetherby – a performance that prompted prominent owner Robert Waley-Cohen to approach Mullins about the possibility of buying the then seven-year-old from the handler’s long-time friend Paul Byrne.
“They (Waley-Cohens) had seen him run in Wetherby when he was second to Ahoy Senor. I think by chance they were there as they had a runner that day,” said Mullins.
“Anthony Bromley (bloodstock agent) put it to them that they were looking for a Grand National horse, Noble Yeats ticked a lot of the boxes and it was great that they put that trust and faith in me.”
Noble Yeats’ first run for Waley-Cohen and his amateur rider son Sam came at the following month’s Cheltenham Festival, where he finished ninth in the Ultima Handicap Chase.
Grand National hero Noble Yeats (near side in front) strides out on the gallops this morning pic.twitter.com/uyXgvaIc4R
Having been beaten 20 lengths in the Cotswolds, he lined up as a 50-1 shot at Aintree, but Mullins insists he never lost faith.
He said: “When the weights came out, he was one of the fancied horses at the prices. Then he had the run in Cheltenham, it was Sam’s first ride on him and it probably didn’t go to plan, but it might have been the making of the horse, running in a big handicap chase at Cheltenham.
“I suppose his price drifted off the back of that, which made him go under the radar a bit more, but we never lost hope or confidence.
“It was a long prep – we had it planned from a long way out and everything went to plan.
“I remember saying to Sam the night before the race ‘if I had the last two weeks back, there’s nothing I would change’.”
Noble Yeats and Sam Waley-Cohen winning the Grand National (David Davies/PA)
Come the big day Noble Yeats certainly stepped up the plate, making his move on the second circuit and finding plenty from the final fence to see off 15-2 favourite Any Second Now by just over two lengths.
Much of the post-race focus was on the winning rider, who having become the first amateur to win the National since Marcus Armytage aboard Mr Frisk in 1990, immediately called time on his career.
Mullins was quite happy to be slightly out of the spotlight, but nevertheless recalls the events of the day with great fondness.
“It’s many months later now and honestly it still hasn’t really sunk in,” he continued.
“I watched the race in the stand to the right of the tunnel when you come out of the parade ring. I was completely on my own and that was Plan A for me!
“I’m fairly sure looking back on it now I was watching the wrong horse for the first half of the race down to the Canal Turn, but by the time he jumped the water and passed in front of me heading out on to the second circuit, I thought he was in position A, a position from where National winners gone by have come from.
“I’m not sure about the horse, but that was the first blow I took! I had to take a breath and gather myself together and from then it was just plain sailing.
“He jumped brilliant and Sam was brilliant on him. He had the confidence to sit and wait until crossing the Melling Road and the rest is history.
“I had to exit stage left and gather myself for a second. I had no idea it was going to be Sam’s last ride, that was a bit more trust they put in, but thank God the horse put it all together.”
All those involved returned to Ireland to further celebrate the success, with Noble Yeats enjoying a homecoming parade in Mullins’ local village of Leighlinbridge.
Noble Yeats with connections outside the Lord Bagenal (Brian Lawless/PA)
Mullins said: “It was a bit surreal when I came home. I hadn’t really told anyone about the homecoming for the horse, but word seemed to have got round and I couldn’t believe the turn out in Leighlinbridge beside the Lord Bagenal (Inn).
“Noble Yeats is not the prettiest horse in the world. George (Mullins, Emmet’s father) saw him recently coming up the yard and said ‘what’s that broodmare doing riding out here?’. The rider just replied ‘if he wins me another National that’ll do me!’.”
The Grand National brought Mullins new-found fame and unsurprisingly further prospective owners.
But while Willie trains a formidable army of around 200 horses just next door, for now Emmet is happy with his lot.
“I’m very happy with the set up I have. It’s manageable and I have a good team of staff. There’s staff shortages across racing and we have a good team together and are doing a good job I think,” he added.
“There was one barn, now there’s two and we’re up to 29 stables. In my head it’s one step at a time.
“After winning the Grand National everyone would have said we’d bang up stables left, right and centre, but I deliberately didn’t. I put my foot down and said we’d be a little bit more calculated.”
For Mullins there is certainly no basking in the glory of what he has achieved, although his stable star will line up as a major contender following a fourth-placed finish in the Cheltenham Gold Cup under new rider Sean Bowen.
Trainer Emmet Mullins (Brian Lawless/PA)
“I try my best not to let winning the Grand National change my life, but you’d have to ask my friends and family about that.
“My mentality is you see it, you do it and you move on and look forward. I suppose that’s part of the reason why winning the National hasn’t hit home, you’re looking for next year’s National winner and trying to buy horses for the year after’s National.
“I’m trying to see that five-year project the whole time. I suppose I did overshoot the first five-year plan a little bit!
“He seems to have come out of the Gold Cup well. He’s getting a bit wiser every time and seems to look after himself a bit. He needs a bit more coaxing and Sean was under pressure and hard at it in the Gold Cup. When he got a bit of daylight, he flew home.
“He was last jumping the first fence in the Grand National last year and wasn’t in contention for the first two miles which all worked out in his favour. There is no rule of thumb – it’s about getting the horse happy and confident with some space and getting the gaps.
“It will probably have to be taking the brave man’s route again to get that space but he negotiated it last year and fingers crossed can do it again. I will tell Sean to keep going back at look at Sam’s ride last year!”
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The Randox Grand National is Corach Rambler’s “ticket to greatness” as Lucinda Russell goes in search of her second victory in the world’s most famous steeplechase.
The Kinross-based handler is well-versed in preparing one for Aintree. She sent out the late One For Arthur to become only the second-ever Scottish-trained winner of the race in 2017 and nursed her National hero back to his best while many were crying for retirement to finish sixth at the age of 10 in 2019.
Since One For Arthur so memorably landed a telling blow six years ago, only the Covid pandemic has been able to stop the Irish domination on Merseyside.
But now the Scottish handler has the perfect candidate to blunt the challenge from across the Irish Sea in Corach Rambler – the upwardly mobile eight-year-old who finds himself near the top of the betting for the big race following back-to-back victories at the Cheltenham Festival.
Corach Rambler ridden by Derek Fox on their way to winning the Ultima Handicap Chase on day one of the Cheltenham Festival (Mike Egerton/PA)
“I definitely think he has the qualities,” said Russell, when assessing her charge’s chances.
“He’s got the bravery and he has the desire to race and the will to win. It’s up to him and Derek (Fox, jockey) now to see if they take to the fences and keep out of trouble throughout the race.
“I think we saw at Cheltenham that he stays very well and he seems to travel really well as well. Although he gets sort of shuffled back sometimes, I thought he travelled much better this year than he did last year. That certainly gives you hope for Aintree.
“The big question is will he take to the fences and that will be a bit different for him. But his jumping seems to be one of his assets, it’s not that he’s extra flamboyant or anything, he’s very neat in his jumping. Although he’s a bold horse, he’s not stupid about things and that bodes well for Aintree.”
Not only is the dual Ultima winner one of the stars of Russell’s rapidly-improving string, but he is also the apple of her partner Peter Scudamore’s eye.
Peter Scudamore and Lucinda Russell consider Corach Rambler part of the family (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Corach Rambler and the former champion jockey are an inseparable pair and with the gelding very much part of the family at Arlary House, the bond between man and horse adds an extra layer of emotion ahead of their tilt at National glory.
“This is going to be very different to One For Arthur because this horse is very close to Scu which adds an extra angle to it,” continued Russell.
“Arthur was a horse we loved greatly, but it is a bit different when Corach is a horse that you half-invite into the house and is very close to us.
“That will add an extra anxiety to Scu’s day definitely, and I’m sure mine as well.
“That makes it even more special and for a horse like Corach, it’s his ticket to greatness. He’s won twice at the Festival and winning the same race two years running is quite an achievement – but it would be lovely for him if he could add a National.”
Cameron Sword, Thomas Kendall, Keith Garwood and Gary Scott, co-owners of Corach Rambler (Andrew Milligan/PA)
It is easy to make comparisons between One For Arthur and this year’s contender. Both headed to Liverpool with a rating in the mid-to-late 140s and there are no secrets in the way big-race pilot Fox will navigate the 30 fences – biding his time and hoping to produce Corach Rambler deep into the contest as he did to great success previously.
However, the Kinross-based handler believes Corach Rambler’s ground versatility is one huge difference which could prove key on the big day.
She said: “I think we’re lucky with that, whereas Arthur was a horse who needed soft ground, and although he handled the good ground, it damaged him in the long run.
“I don’t feel that with Corach, I feel he can actually go on most grounds which is quite heartening ahead of a National.
“The ground isn’t a problem to him which is a big thing when you are taking on a race like the Grand National, because you never know what conditions are going to be like and you are only aiming at the one race – it’s not like you can stop and go somewhere else the next week.”
Corach Rambler will race off a mark 2lb lower than that of One For Arthur on Merseyside, but far from careful planning, it is just simple luck and a helping hand from the weather gods that sees the six-time winner line-up 10lb well-in following his win at Prestbury Park.
“It’s funny how it works out,” explained Russell. “After Newbury (Coral Gold Cup) we said we’d aim for the National and run one more time, and we kept entering him in all these races.
“We would have run him at Lingfield (on Winter Million weekend) if it had been on and it’s probably a good thing he didn’t run at Lingfield because he might have gone up in the handicap.
“In the end we look like total geniuses because he’s gone up 10lb after the weights have come out due to winning at Cheltenham.”
One of the endearing features of the Russell-Scudamore operation is the warmth shown by both trainer and assistant towards those housed at the yard.
HE'S DONE IT AGAIN! 😮
Corach Rambler gets up for a repeat in the Ultima Handicap for Derek Fox & Lucinda Russell 👏 pic.twitter.com/y2fs5dm8R0
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 14, 2023
And despite having total faith in their ability to prepare a horse for the big occasion, the strong connection they share with their inmates means there will be plenty of nerves when Corach Rambler faces the starter at 5.15pm on April 15.
“It would be slightly different (this year) because we have more confidence and we know how to produce the horses, knowing what it takes to win a National.” explained the handler.
“But there is still going to be the stress and anxiety of getting the luck in running. We get very close to these horses and in the last couple of years we seem to be getting even closer still because we ride them ourselves and are really hands on, it does add that extra element to it.”
A second National would be the perfect way for Russell to round off a stellar season which has seen her eclipse her previous best campaign numerically.
Grand National winner One For Arthur pictured with trainer Lucinda Russell at her yard in Kinross, Scotland (Ian Rutherford/PA)
Scooping the £500,000 first-prize would also take her past the £1million prize-money mark for the first time and shows the power the Aintree showpiece has to alter the course of a trainer’s journey.
“Arthur was a huge boost for the yard and shot us into people’s perceptions and we have been able to build on that,” said Russell.
“People say winning a National will change your life and I was kind of in denial, but it genuinely did. It does change your life and it changes your perception of yourself and boosts your own self confidence as much as other peoples.”
“The fact we have had a Cheltenham Festival winner this year and have some lovely novice hurdlers that we can’t wait to go over fences with next year, the future is looking very rosy, and if we can add a Grand National it would really show what a super season we have had.”
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