Lostintranslation seeks to make sense in Grand National

Harry Cobden admits he has not fully appreciated some of the biggest moments of his career so far, but would savour every moment of a Randox Grand National victory if he and Lostintranslation won the iconic race on Saturday.

Since first venturing onto a racecourse during the 2014-15 campaign Cobden has gone on to establish himself as one of the leading members of the weighing room, partnering more than 500 winners including 12 at Grade One level.

Despite only being 23 he has already enjoyed more success than some riders will ever achieve, but the Somerset-born rider admits he took most of those big race victories for granted at the beginning of his career.

Should the Colin Tizzard-trained 10 year old return to something close to his best and capture the £1-million showpiece at Aintree this weekend, Cobden insists he would take it all in.

Joe Tizzard tells Jess Stafford more about Lostintranslation

He explained: “I don’t want to sound big-headed, but I had a fair bit of success early on in my career and I definitely didn’t appreciate the good days as much as I should have done.

“There was a stage when the likes of Cyrname, Clan Des Obeaux and Politologue won all those big races early on for me.

“It was a case of going home after those races, sitting on the sofa watching the replays a couple of times, eating a bit of dinner and going to bed.

“You just think the next one is going to come round in six weeks’ time. Since then, I’ve not had a great deal of big winners.

“We’ve tipped away and had a couple of Grade One winners every year but they are very much the lesser ones. I’ve not won a King George or something like that for ages.

“I know I’m only 23 but as I’ve not had a really big race win for a couple of years I think I would really appreciate this if I had a big one here on him in the Grand National.”

Had it not been for a late setback to his initial mount, Highland Hunter, then Cobden would not have been aboard the dual Grade One winner. However, he is more than happy to have received the call-up to partner the Flemensfirth gelding.

He said: “It is a shame that Highland Hunter got his injury as I thought he would have had a good chance. He stays and jumps well and I thought he had a nice weight as well.

“The best thing about him is that he is so straightforward. He was easy to ride as you could put him anywhere in a race whether it was upfront, last or in the middle.

“He was as hard as nails. He is the sort of horse that would have gone well around there. He was an economical jumper and it is a shame he is not running but we can’t change things now.

“Lostintranslation has had a few problems in the past, but if you look back he has often come good later on in the season. He has won a Grade One at Aintree before as a novice chaser and I think he is more of a spring horse.

“On his day he is high class and there are plenty of others in there I would put behind him if I was going to get a spare ride in the race.”

Having made a winning return to action in the Grade Two Chanelle Pharma 1965 Chase at Ascot in November things have failed to go to plan for Lostintranslation, who finished down the field in the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival last month.

Despite Lostintranslation’s recent form figures being less than inspiring Cobden has reason to believe that he can give a good account of himself after impressing in a recent schooling session over the Aintree-style fences down at David Pipe’s yard.

Cobden said: “I thought he ran okay at Cheltenham last time. He probably didn’t run quite to his best but he had plenty of weight in that race. Joe (Tizzard, son and assistant trainer) seems to think he has improved since then so fingers crossed he has.

“We went down to David Pipe’s on Wednesday and gave him a little school over the Aintree-style fences. He jumped those nicely which was ideal so I’m looking forward to it now.

“I’ve only ridden him once on heavy ground at Haydock Park, but I’ve schooled him loads in the past and I know him quite well. He is a lovely big strapping horse that is polite and nice to be around.

“I don’t think the extended four and a quarter mile trip should be a problem as the year he finished third in the Gold Cup it looked like he would win over the second last. If he turns up and reproduces a bit of his best form he would run well.”

Should Lostintranslation complete the course it would almost certainly give Cobden his best result in the Grand National after he described his record in the race as “awful” from his three previous appearances in it.

He added: “My record is awful. The first ride I had in it I finished 14th on Just A Par in 2017. The following year I rode The Dutchman and the year after that I rode Warriors Tale. We then missed it in 2020 and last year I got injured in the race before.

“Just A Par jammed when the tape went up so he was last and continued to stay near that position and I had to negotiate loose horses all the way round which wasn’t fun, but he was a safe jumper and he was never going to fall as he was ultra-careful.

“The Dutchman was never going to stay. He went well for a circuit he then got tired and shipped me out of the front door.

“Warriors Tale was a fantastic spin but he was never going to stay four miles and he didn’t really stay three miles. He was good fun and I enjoyed him until I pulled him up.

“I’m not saying Lostintranslation is going to go there and produce a career best to shake it up but I think he is a good ride to get in the race.”

Although Cobden’s record in the Grand National is not the best he does possess winning form over the fences having steered Ultragold, trained by Tizzard, to back-to-back victories in the Randox Topham Handicap Chase in 2017 and 2018.

The 2016-17 champion conditional jockey believes he has a good chance of securing a third victory in the Grade Three prize on Friday for his boss Paul Nicholls aboard second season chaser Tamaroc Du Mathan.

He added: “Tamaroc du Mathan would have a chance in the Topham. He is rated 142 which is a fair mark and he has always jumped well.

“He has probably got a similar profile to Ultragold who I won it on a few years back. He has had his wind operation and that has seemed to work well and spark him up a bit.

“In the Topham, you can’t get too far behind as you will never make the ground up. You have to be sharp out the blocks as if you get behind you are game over. I wouldn’t be swapping him for anything else.”