The final day of the Grand National Festival at Aintree features Britain’s most watched horse race.
Trainer Lucinda Russell and partner Peter Scudamore are sticking with the winning formula as Corach Rambler chases back-to-back Grand National wins.
Work routines have been a carbon copy of what worked so well 12 months ago.
If victorious, Corach Rambler, trained at Lucinda Russell’s Arlary House Stables, will be only the second back-to-back winner of the world’s greatest steeplechase since Red Rum in 1974.
Here, Mail Sport dishes up a serving of Grand National Breakfast, taking a look at everything happening on and off the iconic racecourse.
Caldwell Potter was set to make his debut for trainer Paul Nicolls at Aintree on Saturday
Sir Alex Ferguson and three friends bought Caldwell Potter for a record-breaking £634,000
Caldwell Potter blow for Fergie
Sir Alex Ferguson knows better than anyone how an unexpected injury can impact on a title race so he will have full sympathy for Paul Nicholls.
The reigning Champion Trainer had envisaged launching the British career of Caldwell Potter – the horse whom Ferguson and three friends bought for a record-breaking £634,000 in February – in the Mersey Novices Hurdle and all had been going well in his preparations.
Nicholls is in a fight with Dan Skelton and Willie Mullins where every penny counts and Caldwell Potter was anticipated of going very close to landing the £56,270 first prize. Imagine his disappointment, then, when he discovered last night that a foot infection would rule him out.
Caldwell Potter will make a full recovery soon enough but Ferguson, John Hales, Ged Mason and Peter Done are going to have to bide their time before seeing him run – and time is not something Nicholls has on his side as the pressure is applied from all angles.
Jockeys visit Alder Hey
Aintree’s bond with Alder Hey, the renowned children’s hospital, is unbreakable – the course gave 110 tickets to staff at the hospital to mark its 110th year – and a highlight for the jockeys competing in the Grand National is the opportunity to take part in the annual trip to the facility.
Rachael Blackmore, Sean Bowen, Sam Twiston-Davies and Nico De Boinville were among a huge crew that arrived at Alder Hey on Friday morning and spent hours taking time to speak to patients and families. It is, as Twiston-Davies acknowledged, a privilege for them to be asked to visit.
What makes this partnership so enduring is that Alder Hey’s name is always visible, a reminder of the fantastic service it provides for youngsters in the region. Their race yesterday, the concluding conditional jockeys hurdle, was won by 40/1 outsider El Jefe.
High-rollers fly in
Among the wonderful facilities at the track, were you aware Aintree has its own helicopter port? Down by the fifth fence, a fairway on the golf course that dominates the in-field has been turned into a temporary take-off and landing pad for the high-rollers who fly in daily.
‘Temporary’ suggests the facility is primitive but nothing could be further from the truth. It is kitted out with a plush waiting room, a radar control area and there is a road for chauffeur service to transport guests to their required destination with minimum fuss and maximum discretion.
Aintree boasts a host of wonderful facilities including its own plush helicopter pad
Security strife for JP McManus
Security is paramount at Aintree and checks are being made at every possible juncture to see if you have the right badge for the right enclosure. Those charged with making checks are taking their responsibilities seriously – as JP McManus found.
Having just seen Jonbon put his head down and scuttle all the way to the line in the Melling Chase, McManus had made his way back to the winners’ enclosure with trainer Nicky Henderson to greet his successful horse.
Being arguably the most famous man on the course, though, was no guarantee of getting through the necessary gate at first when he didn’t have his badge to show a security lady. A smile, a quiet word and a chuckle later and the issue was resolved.
Dream day for Neild family
Most young boys on Merseyside grow up with dreams of scoring a winning goal at Goodison Park or Anfield and Jamie Neild was no different – a dyed-in-the-wool Evertonian, he was on Liverpool’s books as a youngster and played football to a decent level.
Neild, though, had another dream and today it will come true when he gets the leg up on Josh The Boss – owned by his father, John – in the Grade One Mersey Novices Hurdle. A local lad being in the thick of the action on National day is a rare event and how he will savour it.
Back in November, Neild and Josh The Boss enlivened a run-of-the-mill Aintree card by winning over the course-and-distance of Saturday’s race, sparking wild celebrations. You couldn’t imagine what it would be like if the pair pull off a huge shock but they will give it their best shot.
What makes this so special is that Neild is purely an amateur jockey and got into horse racing purely to try and ride a winner at Aintree. He is realistic about Josh The Boss’s prospects against some outstanding Irish horses but stranger things have happened.
Millionaire entrepreneur David Maxwell will ride Ain’t That A Shame in the Grand National
Millionaire buys horse to ride in race
Racing’s unique place in the sporting landscape is best highlighted by this: where else could someone make a late purchase to get themselves a place in the event? For instance, you couldn’t just buy an expensive set of golf clubs with the intention of getting a round at Augusta.
With that in mind, watch how Ain’t That A Shame fares in the big race. The gelding was trained by Henry de Bromhead 12 months ago and went off favourite for Rachael Blackmore and owner Brian Acheson but never got competitive.
Ain’t That A Shame won the historic Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park in January for that trio but has subsequently been sold to Corinthian amateur David Maxwell, who is 45, specifically to ride in the National. It will be the thrill of the property developer’s life.
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