Grand National stable tours: Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins

Gordon Elliott (19) and Willie Mullins (8) have 27 contenders between them in this year's Randox Grand National and, following the release of the entries on Tuesday, the pair have provided the inside track on their leading contenders.

LEADING CONTENDERS:Tiger Roll (11st 4lb), Delta Work (11st 3lb), Run Wild Fred (11st 1lb), Battleoverdoyen (11st), Mount Ida (10st 13lb), Escaria Ten (10st 9lb), Farclas (10st 9lb), Samcro (10st 9lb), Coko Beach (10st 7lb), Braeside (10st 5lb), Milan Native (10st 2lb) and Death Duty (10st 1lb).

Gordon Elliott believes he goes into this year’s Randox Grand National with one of the “best hands” he has ever had.

The three-time Grand National-winning trainer currently has 19 horses entered in this year’s Aintree showpiece including multiple Grade One winners.

Tiger Roll was expected bid for a third Randox Grand National victory this year, but owner Michael O'Leary has ruled his dual Grand National winner out of the Aintree showpiece due to his "absurd" rating following the release of the weights on Tuesday.

Elliott, who celebrated Grand National success for the first time in 2007 with Silver Birch, provided the lowdown on his leading contenders for this year's Randox Grand National prior to Michael O'Leary announncing Tiger Roll would not be aimed at the Grand National.

Weight: 11st 4lb.

He is in very good form at home. We have been training him for Cheltenham all season and we are really looking forward to going back there. We will see how Cheltenham goes but he has got a nice weight so the Grand National could be on the agenda.

The ground was too soft the last day for him. He is coming to himself at home and we are looking forward to running him back at Cheltenham.

We decided to run him in the National in 2018 as he had lost his way a little bit so we had to try and rejuvenate him and it really worked for him. I was nervous going into the next year’s Grand National but it was a dream come true to win it for a second time with him. He was very good on the second occasion.

To have a horse like him is a dream come true but to win two Grand Nationals with him has just been awesome and I’m very lucky to have him. I do think there is still a more in him and we are certainly not finished yet.

It looks like it might be one of my best hands in the Grand National as we look to have a lot of great chances. You would have to be looking forward to the likes of Mount Ida, Run Wild Fred and Death Duty, who is a dual Grade One winner that at the moment is off 10st 1lb, which looks a lovely weight. Hopefully he creeps in to the race.

Conflated (11st 10lb) will be going to Cheltenham, while the aim is the Gold Cup with Galvin (11st 10lb) and he would only run in the National if anything happened in the Gold Cup.

Weight: 11st 3lb.

He is a definitely a possibility for the Grand National. He might not quite be up to Gold Cup class anymore. We were half thinking about the Grand National and it looks like he has got a nice weight there. He got jarred up at Leopardstown last season and I just don’t think he has quite been the same horse since. I think there could be a bit of work left in him and I think this is the route to go with him now. I think he could easily take to these fences.

Weight: 11st 1lb.

That looks a lovely weight for him. He could go for something like the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham but I think he could be a National horse after that. He was second in last year’s Irish Grand National and he ticks a lot of boxes. He is a very consistent character. Taking in the Irish National is a good route to go before having a crack at the Grand National. He is a big staying chaser and I think he could easily be a Grand National horse. He has that touch of class about him as well.

Weight: 11st.

He suffered a nasty fall the last day but I wouldn’t rule him out. He will probably run between now and the Grand National but we will see. I suppose you would question if he would stay. You just never quite know what stays the National trip. He is a good horse having won a few Grade Ones in his times.

Weight: 10st 13lb.

She definitely runs and she looks to have a nice weight. She will contest the mares chase at Cheltenham first. She won the Kim Muir last year and she stays very well. Like Run Wild Fred she ticks a lot of the boxes you need to be a Grand National horse. The Grand National has been the plan since last year with her. She hasn’t had lots of races but she is a good mare. I think she stays very well and she could be made for the Grand National. A mare hasn’t won the race for a while but Magic Of Light was a good second behind Tiger Roll so mares can run well in the race.

Weight: 10st 9lb.

He will go straight to the Grand National, that is the plan with him. I probably ran him a bit quick in the Irish National after running him in the National Hunt Chase. I’d say he just got tired the last day in the Thyestes. He is a big horse and he is hard to get fit and he just needed the run last time. He ran a very good race behind Galvin in the National Hunt Chase last year and that form is very good. I think he should go well over those fences.

Weight: 10st 9lb.

He was fifth in the race last season and this has been the plan all season to send him back to Aintree again. He will go straight there. He had been busy last season so it was a bit of a surprise that he ran so well but we trained him for the race this season. To finish fifth as a seven year old I thought was a good effort myself. By keeping him relatively fresh hopefully he can go a few places better but you never know.

Weight: 10st 9lb.

He has had a lot of problems with his sinuses but we have had them sorted again and the plan is to go straight to the Grand National. He is a very good horse on his day. We are just hoping these fences might light him up so we are going to go straight there. He has had a couple of problems but he is in good form now and we are looking forward to running him in the Grand National.

Weight: 10st 7lb.

Soft ground is the real key to him. If we got a soft ground Grand National he would have a good chance as he is a good horse. He is in good form but we will have to keep an eye on the weather as to whether he would run or not.

Weight: 10st 5lb.

The intention is to run him as well if he gets in. He will run in the National Hunt Chase and then go to the National. He made a mistake in Thyestes and a bit like Death Duty that just put him out of the race a little bit. He has been really good since then. He has already won the Cork National on heavy ground and he stays very well but he ran well in the Paddy Power at Leopardstown on good ground. He is a smart horse apart from what happened the last day.

Weight: 10st 2lb.

Nothing happened for him in the race last year but we’ve not had the cleanest run with him. We are touch and go whether we get in there or not.

Weight: 10st 1lb.

He could get in off number 65 on the list and if he does he would have a nice mark. The way he won on Sunday he could be a real Grand National horse. It was great seeing him win at the weekend as there has been a lot of drinks between his wins. All the girls in the yard have done a really good job with him. I’m really delighted with the way he won. If he gets in off that sort of weight he could be dangerous. I was always hoping that he could get his head back in front. I fancied him in the Thyestes after his run at Christmas but he just made a mistake and it didn’t happen then. I was very happy with the way he ran on Sunday.

LEADING CONTENDERS:Melon (11st 6lb), Franco de Port (11st 4lb), Brahma Bull (11st), Burrows Saint (10st 13lb), Ontheropes (10st 9lb), Class Conti (10st 4lb) and Agusta Gold (10st 3lb).

Willie Mullins admits he could spring a surprise in this year’s Randox Grand National by running Melon, a horse who has never jumped a fence at Aintree and whose last victory was in a beginner’s chase in December 2019.

The 10 year old has only ever run once at the home of the Grand National, when falling three flights from home in the Betway Aintree Hurdle in April 2019.

However, Melon has been given a rating of 163 and a weight of 11st 6lb by handicapper Martin Greenwood and would end up top weight for the April 9th race should Gordon Elliott pull out his Cheltenham Festival-bound pair of Conflated and Galvin.

Read what Mullins, who won the Grand National in 2005 with Hedgehunter, has to say about his leaeding contenders in this year's Aintree showpiece.

Weight: 11st 6lb.

He has been second four times at the Cheltenham Festival. He hasn’t ever run at Aintree (over fences) and it could be a track that might suit him. We decided to give him an entry and see where he is.

We skipped the Dublin Racing Festival to look at both Cheltenham and Aintree. I think he will like the ground that Aintree usually throws up and he jumps well enough.

He would be an interesting runner there. He is at an age now where he is finding it hard to win at the top level. We felt this was a bit of a last roll of dice to see if Aintree lit his fire. He runs good races all the time but he is just finding it hard to get his head in front.

Weight: 11st 4lb.

He ran very well the other day. He is a horse that has plenty of stamina in his pedigree. We felt that he deserved an entry in the race. If he likes Aintree it is the place he could go back over the next few years being that he is only seven.

Weight: 11st.

Brahma Bull is a proper handicapper that has been placed in plenty of top staying handicap chases. Being as he is being by Presenting he will like the ground that usually turns up at Aintree. I think it was the soft ground that didn’t help him at Gowran Park. He is a horse that the heavy winter ground probably doesn’t suit. He really improves in the spring.

Weight: 10st 13lb.

He looked very good for most of the race last year and just going to the last he just ran out of petrol a bit. However, he is more mature this year and he is certainly one a lot of jockeys would like to ride. It was a good run he had behind Al Boum Photo last time and it has been entirely the case since last year’s Grand National to go back there again. He will probably go for the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse before going to Aintree. He has a nice weight and is definitely a horse with a chance off that weight.

ONTHEROPES_

Weight: 10st 9lb.

Ontheropes’ runs have just been okay but he needs to hit a bit better form. He is another one that maybe winter ground hasn’t suited as much as I thought it would have done and that maybe drier ground in the Spring would be better for him. He won the Munster National well and he is a proper staying chaser so these are the races I will be entering him in over the next couple of years.

Trainer: 10st 4lb.

Class Conti appears to have a nice racing weight and he should get in from number 47 on the list. I was happy with his last run at Gowran. He is coming along nicely and will have a nice light weight for the Grand National. Everything was positive about his run in the race last year so we said we would come back here again.

Weight: 10st 3lb.

She has got a very light weight should she get in the race. I would like to get her in the race. She hasn’t hit form at all this season which is disappointing. We purchased her as a Grand National horse and I’m hoping that she will turn into that. She will probably have another run before the Grand National and we will see what happens.