CYBER MONDAY

The 2023 Randox Grand National: what the trainers say

By Racing TV

Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023

Gordon Elliott is sweet on Delta Work as he goes in search of a joint-record fourth victory in Randox Grand National on Saturday.

The master of Cullentra was a fresh-faced and relatively unknown 29-year-old when first claiming the world’s most famous steeplechase with Silver Birch in 2007. But he is now very much established as one of National Hunt racing’s elite trainers.

Elliott has fond memories of that day 16 years ago, but does not believe Silver Birch’s triumph was a major factor in his meteoric rise through the ranks.

“I didn’t get one horse out of training Silver Birch. I got my name out after that, but I had to prove I could go and train winners,” he said.

“We trained an awful of mid-range winners in the north of England after Silver Birch and that is what really got us going. That got a lot of owners on board to get us in a great position.”

Elliott was a household name by the time his second National winner came around, with the hugely-popular Tiger Roll striking gold in 2018.

Also a five-time winner at the Cheltenham Festival, the Gigginstown House Stud-owned gelding became an Aintree legend by making it back-to-back victories in 2019.

Those triumphs have put Elliott on the verge of joining George Dockeray, Fred Rimell and Red Rum’s trainer Ginger McCain as a four-time winner.

Elliott added: “The Grand National has been a special race to me and I have won it three times. Obviously, I would love to win it again. Hopefully, I have at least another 20 or 30 years of my training career left, so hopefully it will happen at some stage.

“I rode around Aintree a few times and broke my arm the last time I rode there on a horse called Sheltering for Edward O’Grady (in the 2003 Fox Hunters’ Chase).

“I didn’t have much luck there as a rider, but I was just an ordinary amateur and enjoyed it. I like training a lot more.”

Rachael Blackmore rides the well-backed Ain't That A Shame. She spoke with Lydia Hislop on Friday

The shortest-priced of Elliott’s six-strong team is Delta Work, who denied Tiger Roll the fairytale ending to his career in the cross-country chase at last year’s Cheltenham Festival before finishing third in the Grand National.

The 10-year-old successfully defended his crown at Cheltenham last month and Elliott is confident he will be in the thick of the action again on his return to Aintree.

He said: “If I had to pick a horse to ride this year, it would be Delta Work. He got a little bit far back early last year, but ran a very good race.

“He was a bit careful, but he is in great form now and we couldn’t be happier with him.”

Elliott’s second string appears to be Galvin, who was runner-up to Delta Work at Cheltenham just over four weeks ago and will be ridden by Davy Russell, who steered Tiger Roll to his two National wins.

Russell came out of retirement to stand in for the sidelined Jack Kennedy earlier in the season and it would be a fitting end to his riding career if he can go out on a blaze of glory.

Elliott, who also runs Dunboyne (Jack Tudor), Fury Road (Jonjo O’Neill Jnr), Coko Beach (Harry Cobden) and Escaria Ten (Adrian Heskin), added: “With Galvin, the drier the ground, the better chance he has.

“He will have come on a lot from Cheltenham and is in good form. We are very, very happy with him.”

Noble Yeats seeks repeat

The horse bidding to emulate Tiger Roll by securing back-to-back Grand National wins is the Emmet Mullins-trained Noble Yeats.

The eight-year-old gave distinguished amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen the perfect send-off last year, returning to Aintree to win the Many Clouds Chase in December before finishing third and fourth in the Cotswold Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup respectively.

Mullins is hoping Sean Bowen can repeat Waley-Cohen’s tactics from 12 months ago, saying: “He was last over the first last time. He wasn’t in contention for the first two miles, but it all worked out in his favour.

“There’s no rule of thumb for it, it’s just getting the horse happy and confident in a bit of space and running into the gaps. It’ll probably have to be the brave man’s route to get that space. He negotiated it last year and fingers crossed he can do it again.

“I think he’s getting a bit wiser every time and looking after himself a bit more. He’s just holding a bit back for himself, but hopefully we can get it out of him.

“Just a bit of space is ideal for him, it’s going to be hard in a National with 40 runners but I suppose I’ll just keep telling Sean to go back and look at Sam’s ride last year.”

Rambler well-in at the weights

In a market otherwise dominated by the Irish, the clear outlier is Lucinda Russell’s Corach Rambler.

It is six years since Russell’s One For Arthur became only the second Scottish-trained winner of the Aintree showpiece, after Rubstic in 1979, and there is no doubt her latest contender has a lot going for him.

Corach Rambler lines up officially 10lb well-in at the weights, with the handicapper unable to penalise him for his successful defence of the Ultima at the Cheltenham Festival last month, and his trainer feels he provides her with a “fantastic chance” of bagging a second National.

“It was funny really because going in I didn’t expect to win at Cheltenham at all, I certainly didn’t expect him to win as he did,” said the Kinross handler.

“We knew that he had improved this season and before the race we knew that he had improved, so it was exciting to see him be able to go on and win like that. But the slightly scary thing is, I think he has improved again.

“Scu (Peter Scudamore, Russell’s partner) rode him just afterwards and he said that he had come out of that race so well. So if he can do (improve again), Aintree is the race for him.”

Stamina is Corach Rambler’s strong suit and with just 10st 5lb on his back, and One For Arthur’s rider Derek Fox set to return from injury just in time to take the ride, everything points to a huge run.

“Technically, if you look at it, he is extremely well in on the handicap,” Russell added. “He’s gone up in the weights since Cheltenham and I think he has improved as well. From that point of view, technically, I think has got a fantastic chance.

“He has to take to the fences, he has to take to the whole Aintree experience, but again I am pretty confident that he will do that.”

Mullins has team primed

Paul Townend (left) and Willie Mullins seek more big-race glory

There are few heights Willie Mullins has not scaled in his training career and with five runners in the National, he holds a strong hand.

While the Closutton handler is miles clear of the pack when it comes to training Cheltenham Festival winners, the world-famous Aintree showpiece has not always been kind to the Closutton handler.

It is 18 years since Hedgehunter gave the yard its sole National success and should Mullins win it this term, he might not even be there to celebrate, as the 66-year-old is recuperating at home after a recent hip operation.

Regardless, there is also likely to be plenty of support for his fab five in the field of 40.

Mullins saddles Mr Incredible (Brian Hayes), Gaillard Du Mesnil (Paul Townend), Capodanno (Danny Mullins), Carefully Selected (Michael O’Sullivan) and Recite A Prayer (Jack Foley).

Gaillard Du Mesnil is the stable’s first string on the betting, but stable jockey Townend faced a tough choice. Mullins said: “Paul thought about riding Capadanno and Carefully Selected, but I suppose, taking recent form into account, it’s not a surprise which way he’s gone.”

Townend earned his and Mullins’ third Cheltenham Gold Cup success when Galopin Des Champs took the laurels last month, then scored another huge victory for the yard when landing the Irish Grand National with I Am Maximus at Fairyhouse on Monday.

Mullins added: “I think the ride he gave I Am Maximus surpassed his Gold Cup one. He was Paul the jockey at Cheltenham and Paul the horseman at Fairyhouse. He rode him as a jockey on the first circuit and then threw the book out of the window on the second circuit because that wasn’t working.”

The gap between the big Cheltenham and Aintree festival meetings is a week longer than normal this year due to Easter, but Mullins admits he would prefer another another week still for Gaillard Du Mesnil.

“We can’t do anything about the gap between the races, that’s the way it is,” he added. “I’d like to wait another week but I’m happy the horse is in good form.

“It didn’t do the Irish National winner any harm. A lot of the team have run since Cheltenham and they’ve run well.”

However, should any of his quintet win, his operation means any Aintree celebrations may have to go on without him. “I’ll try to get there, but it’s doubtful,” he added.

The Big Dog aiming to show bite

If a trainer’s confidence was a guide to winning the Randox Grand National, The Big Dog would be already be home and hosed.

It is never easy to be overly-optimistic in any horse race, especially so in the four-and-a-quarter-mile Aintree showpiece. More so if that horse fell on his last start.

Though The Big Dog tipped up – for the first time in his chasing career – in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown in February, Peter Fahey is adamant the 10-year-old, who won the Munster National and the Troytown Chase earlier this term, has all the credentials to land the £1million race.

“He travelled over great and is in great form. We are really looking forward to it,” said the Kildare handler. “If you drew a line under his last run, his form is rock solid.

“The ground is beautiful, everything seems good and well for him. He is in great form and working well at home. You get a bit of luck in running, and hopefully he runs a big race for everyone.

“It is a race that every trainer in the world wants to win and to have a horse going to it with a great chance is brilliant. Please God he’ll win and it would be brilliant for everyone involved.

“I think he can win – I do. I can’t see any reason why not. I think he has a great profile. You take away his fall and he has a proper profile for it.”

Second to finish first?

Ruby Walsh: memories of his National rides plus five golden rules for the big day

Any Second Now will carry top weight of 11st 12lb, having finished an unlucky third in the race in 2021 and second to Noble Yeats last year.

In contrast to Fahey, trainer Ted Walsh feels the 11-year-old’s best chance may have passed, however.

He said: “He’s as good as he can be and I think he’s as good as he was last year. That probably won’t be good enough but anymore than that I can’t do.

“Whatever he has he has, but he is rated 8lb higher than last year and he couldn’t win it last year, so it is very hard to see him winning now. But he’s in good nick, he goes there with a good chance and I’m glad to have him.

“There’s been no hiccups all season and everything is good, no problems.

“It is great to be a part of it. I never thought I would ever have a horse that was saddlecloth number one going to the start of the Grand National anyway.

“Everyone in National Hunt racing dreams about a Gold Cup and a Grand National or Irish National and they are the biggest ones you can get.

“The dream has already been fulfilled (Walsh won the race with Papillon in 2000), but I don’t know if it will be fulfilled again.”

Skeltons have faith in Le Milos

Le Milos bids to repeat the form that saw him win the Coral Gold Cup

Le Milos bids for a second big handicap chase success of the season, having plundered the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in November.

Though he did not run again until being narrowly beaten at Kelso in early March, trainer Dan Skelton is confident he has him fitter than when last seen.

“Le Milos is in really good form. I took him for an away day recently, and he was very good,” said Skelton.

“He’s versatile in regards to the ground and I think he’ll stay the trip, so he’s got a good profile for the race.

“He’s a Coral Gold Cup winner and I can assure you that I was probably as fit as he was at Kelso!

“I was a bit embarrassed about it to be honest, as I knew he’d need the run, but then when you get caught that late, you do kick yourself a little bit.

“He was obviously a gallop short of winning that day but I know how much he’d done and how much he’s done since, so I know that will be well left behind.”

Poet to have last word?

Longhouse Poet (left) ran well for a long way in last year

Longhouse Poet was sixth last year, weakening in the finish after racing to the fore. He advertised his well-being when beating Roi Mage at Down Royal and trainer Martin Brassil, who won the race in 2006 with Numbersixvalverde, feels he will be right in the thick of things again.

“Everything is as it should be, hopefully,” he said. “He was a bit keen last year and we have had that to look back on, so we can see what we can do to alleviate it.

“The fact that he has had a run round there might mean he is not as exuberant as he was the first time, but at least he has the experience of it anyway.

“It’s a great ride for JJ (Slevin) and there has been plenty of rain, which won’t hurt – the slower the ground, the better.”

Vanillier has "lovely weight"

Vanillier looks nicely handicapped in the Aintree spectacular

Only three grey horses have landed the Aintree prize since the race’s inception in 1839 – The Lamb (1871), Nicolaus Silver (1961) and Neptune Collonges (2012).

Vanillier has just 10st 6lb on his back as he bids to join that elite trio and trainer Gavin Cromwell thinks there is plenty in his favour.

“He has a lovely weight,” said the Navan handler. “The ground looks like it is going to be ideal and he’s settled in well since he’s come over.

“We’re looking forward to it. His run last time behind Kemboy in the Bobbyjo was a great run, especially since were were ‘wrong’ at the weights, and that was a good prep.

“He has come out of that well and hopefully come forward a bit since then.

“Like every National, you need everything to go your way and you need luck on your side, but if he gets that, hopefully he’ll be in the mix.

“I think he’ll take to the fences. We schooled him over similar (National) fences at the Curragh and he seemed to like them, so fingers crossed he’ll go well.”

Thomas has Power

The Sam Thomas-trained Our Power also has a nice racing weight, having sneaked in at the foot of the handicap.

Winner of four of his eight starts over fences, the eight-year-old is on a hat-trick, having won competitive three-mile handicaps on his previous two starts at Ascot and Kempton.

“We took him to Lambourn as they’ve got two ready-made fences and it was a nice away day for them,” said Thomas. “He jumped brilliantly, had a good day out and a good experience all round.

“It’s very much an unknown, they go a terrible speed down to the first few and you’re in the lap of the gods really. You need to have a lot of luck, meet the first on a nice stride and get your feet on the ground.

“Sam (Twiston-Davies, jockey) is super excited, he wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s been pretty vocal about it for quite some time.

“He’s got a progressive profile I’d say. We’re going into the race with a nice, fresh horse but there are so many unknowns.”

Mister Coffey (right) will bid to give Nicky Henderson his first National success

Henderson hoping to end hoodoo

Six-times champion trainer Nicky Henderson hopes to fill the glaring omission on his glittering CV with Mister Coffey.

The eight-year-old, who was 16th when favourite for the Topham over the same Grand National fences last April, has finished runner-up on five of his eight chase starts and was placed in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham last time.

“Mister Coffey’s stats are great – he’s a maiden over fences but he placed in a National Hunt Chase. But you need to worry about my stats!” Henderson said.

“It would be nice (to win it) and we will give it a go.

“He ran a great race at Cheltenham, that was a perfect Aintree trial. He took to the fences in the Topham, it just wasn’t far enough, this time it’s another whole circuit.”

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