The Grand National at Aintree is not just a big part of British culture, it is a race that captures the imagination of both horse racing fans and those who don’t follow the sport in great detail.
This year’s race will be the 175th renewal of the annual steeplechase in Liverpool. If you are looking forward to the latest running of the race, here are five horses who should be in contention for success.
Noble Yeats
The 2022 Grand National will be remembered for jockey Sam Whaley-Cohen prevailing on board Noble Yeats, becoming the first amateur to win the race since 1990. Although Whaley-Cohen is now retired from the saddle, the winning horse is expected to return to defend his crown.
The Grand National winner is BACK!
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) December 3, 2022
Noble Yeats flies home late to win the Many Clouds Chase at Aintree… pic.twitter.com/XLH5WAJXmk
Noble Yeats is one of the leading Cheltenham ante post tips for this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, the feature race of the Cheltenham Festival. He has had another excellent season, so he will head to Aintree in great form and the horse the other 39 runners will have to beat. If he can win the Gold Cup a month earlier, he will become just the third horse to win those two major races.
Corach Rambler
Scottish-based trainer Lucinda Russell is very familiar with Grand National success. She won the race at Aintree in 2017 with One for Arthur. Six years on from that biggest day of her career, she heads back to Liverpool with a great chance of more glory with Corach Rambler.
The nine-year-old has been a progressive chaser over the last couple of seasons. He won the Ultima Handicap Chase at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, one of the premier handicap races at the meeting. There is likely to be more to come from Russell’s horse on his debut in the Grand National.
Gaillard Du Mesnil
Irish Champion Trainer Willie Mullins is a man used to success at the major horse racing meetings. He is an 88-time winner at the Cheltenham Festival, while he had Grand National glory in 2005 with Hedgehunter.
Gaillard Du Mesnil and @PTownend – one of the jockey's seven winners at @LeopardstownRC this week
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) December 29, 2022
📸: @patcashhealy / https://t.co/IvZ4GYrM6n pic.twitter.com/Ti22Ylw9Ef
Mullins will be looking forward to this year’s Grand National as his second-season chaser Gaillard Du Mesnil has shaped like it will be a race that will suit him. He has proved his stamina and he is an excellent jumper.
Any Second Now
Connections of Any Second Now will be hoping it is third time lucky for their horse in the Grand National this year. He finished third in the race on his debut in 2021. A year later he improved on that position by chasing home Noble Yeats in second place.
An Irish-trained horse has won the last four renewals of the Grand National and should Ted Walsh’s chaser land the top prize this time around, he will ensure the Irish team extended their winning run to five.
Any Second Now will need to carry the highest weight allocation this year, as the official handicapper has handed him 11st 12lb. No horse since 1974 had won the contest with that much weight on their back.
The 2023 Grand National meeting takes place between 13-15 April, with the feature race scheduled for the final day of the three-day event.
