Tanya Stevenson's Ante-Post Preview For Aintree's Grand National Meeting
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Tweed and corduroy packed away for another year to gather dust, but the comments and dismay in the aftermath will mean that dust will take a while to settle. Fear not, I'm not going to add my two penneth not yet I’ll save that for another day.
Tuesday was the latest scratching stage for the Randox Grand National with 17 more defecting leaving 58 scrambling for 34 places. I flagged up Galvin for the race after his run in the Boyne Hurdle.
I felt it was a blessing in a way that the Cross Country was abandoned at Cheltenham, he has come off breaks of 154 days, 119 days, 144 days, 211 days, and 59 days to win, so 49 days off is nothing.
He is 15 on the list so will get a run and hopefully, he will get further than last year when he was unseated at the first.
Aintree will always be magical to me, I've been lucky enough to have attended for over 40 years in various guises and will be there once again in 2024, and can’t wait.
In the 70s there were never-ending car journeys as a family from Essex to pitch up as bookmakers. Our pitch was in line with the notorious elbow and I got a good view of our liabilities coasting home.
I used to clerk jotting down all the bets resting on the creaky wooden stools, as Dad or Roger hollowed out the odds.
The tic-tacs for the major firms would precariously sign teetering on wooden boxes layered four or five high. There were twist cards in an array of colours. There was no computerisation then it was raw bottle and opinion.
Hot coffee and tea were the fuel and I remember many a time when I was soaked through shivering when the rain poured relentlessly, umbrellas were useless.
The pen then pencil tore through the soggy paper in the furor to jot down the bets. Yet the camaraderie was amazing.
The punters loved a bet, they came with knowledge of the form and a fondness for the game. The stand side rail was an arm's length behind the long, single-file line of pitches including ours.
It added to the drama, stress, and endearment of me being that close to the thundering hooves as they raced to glory. We stayed in hotels and B&Bs whose where they bet without stars of recommendation.
1988 sparked my love for the Foxhunters, the finish between Newnham and Shylocks Return forever resonating with just a head between two courageous horses and two ultimate amateur riders.
Mind you that year’s National was hideous for us, but momentous for many as the success of Rhyme N Reason and West Tip finishing fourth meant there was what seemed an infinite queue to pay out and we weren’t able to price up for the remainder of the meeting.
It took a few months to stand up at the greyhounds and various race meetings to slowly claw back the losses.
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On the way to Aintree in 1990 I found a tenner on the forecourt floor at a service station on the way, tried to hand it over at the ‘Jack and Jill’ but was told ‘to keep it Luv’ so that and more went straight on Dwadme, he duly obliged, although it wasn’t a good result for the firm so I had to keep stum.
There were times when the decision was made to have a lean up, side with favourite once such time was in 1996 when we stood by Rolling Ball in the Hunter Chase over the big spruce fences. I had three columns full of bets on Kerry Orchid a wonderful grey trained by Edward O’Grady, there was also a long column on Brown Windsor.
He departed halfway through the race. At this point, Kerry Orchid was detached about 30 lengths behind Rolling Ball.
Kerry Orchid from that point ran as if he had wings, some family members could barely look through their fingers come the elbow, but someone looked down on us that day and Rolling Ball held on.
There would have been in-running carnage these days. This year there will potentially be a real hot pot in the race, in Its On The Line, Emmet Mullins trained and no doubt Derek O’Connor ridden once more.
There is no question about his ability, yes but, he fell at Becher's in the race in 2023 and he was behind at the time, something you can ill afford to be as this is a contest often won by those racing in contention. Famous Clermont will be back to win the race he won in a saunter last year.
Will Biddick aboard and the pair blew the cobwebs away at Wincanton in February. He didn’t jump as well as he could making mistakes at a few, hopefully, he will have got that out of his system. I sense On The Line will make the for Famous Clermont almost an each-way steal, ssshhhh.
Natalie Parker has impressed me so much as a rider and here’s hoping she will have a mount here, over the past five seasons she has had 12 winners from 41 rides and her skills can be witnessed on Secret Investor at Newbury last Saturday and on Espoir De Guye at Wincanton beating Famous Clermont.
He is entered in the Foxhunters, he is a front runner and she just could get out and make all or at least fill the first four places. Getting really cocky I'm thinking even at this stage of a small combination forecast and tricast.
Back in 2008, the race was won by Christy Beamish, ridden by Josh Guerrerio. Now a fully-fledged and talented trainer alongside Oliver Greenall, no doubt training the winner of this race has been on his radar.
They have Gaboriot who is a sprightly eight-year-old who won very easily at Catterick last time out, he can act on good or soft, he has won five of his 18 chase races and in hindsight, the way he was ridden at Catterick gave cause to think they were testing tactic for Aintree.
Not too far behind bringing him into contention round about the Melling Road than its down to fate, I will remind you nearer the time once the race has been finalised.
Peter Bowen is the master of the Topham Chase, he has won it five times to date, he has a massive chance of making it six in 2024. Mac Tottie was victorious in the contest in 2022 having won the 2021 Grand Sefton as well.
After pulling up at Cheltenham in October 2022 he was off for over a year with a suspensory injury, but bounced right back winning a veterans chase on the Mildmay course.
Sean Bowen hinted his target would be the big fences in the Spring. So here we are. He has had two races since but they were over 3 miles which arguably isn’t his distance. He is seven from 12 from 2m 3f to 2m 6f and he avoided Cheltenham which I feel is a positive.
Favourites have a poor record in the race only six have won in the last 40 years and the last jolly to oblige was Gwanako in 2008, so be warned.
Dan Skelton is chasing after the trainers’ title after a superb season including four winners at the Cheltenham Festival. More success could come in the shape of Sail Away who ran an interesting race in the Ascot Chase last time out.
He was never really in contention, but he was only beaten 10 lengths by Pic D’Orhy and five lengths by subsequent Gold Cup fourth L’Homme Presse. Solid Grade 1 form which reads exceptionally well now. Sail Away was last seen winning at the Scottish National meeting beating Forward Plan.
He was slowly coming to himself prior to Ascot, especially with the fourth in the SkyBet Chase. That Ascot Chase run makes him stand out like a beacon. With him and Mac Tottie, I think there’s a fair chance the Topham is covered.
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