The Grand National is one of the most unique events anywhere in the world of sport. The horse racing contest takes place over a distance of 4m4f, and is the longest National Hunt race to take place in the UK. Furthermore, instead of using the standard fences you will be familiar with seeing in jumps action, the obstacles are much bigger.
Trainers in the sport prepare their horses all season for this race. At the start of the campaign they will want to keep their runner active, but, at the same time, don’t want them peaking until April when the race takes place at Aintree. Once the weights are released in February, the trainer knows exactly where they stand with their horse and will consider if they feel they are good enough to carry their allotted weight in the maximum field of 40 runners.
In order to sharpen up their horse’s jumping ahead of the Grand National, trainers will do a lot of schooling back at their yard. There are 30 fences to jump in the race, therefore if a horse struggles over obstacles, they are not going to get very far in the world-famous steeplechase. The schooling back home is crucial, as there are not many opportunities for the horses to have a go at the big fences on the racecourse. The Becher Handicap Chase, which takes place in December, is run on the Grand National course, while the Topham Chase – which was won last year by Eastlake – is another contest where the big fences are used. However, that race takes place a day before the big race – so you are unlikely to see any horse run in both contests.
Credit: Cornelius Lysaght via Twitter
David Pipe, who won the race with Comply or Die in 2008, is the trainer which has the favourite this year. Vieux Lion Rouge can be backed at 10/1 if you are looking to place a bet on the Grand National on Paddy Power bookmaker’s site. This will be the horse’s third run over the big fences as he was seventh in the race on his debut 12 months ago, while back in December he landed the Becher Chase.
The late Ginger McCain holds the record for training the most winners in the Grand National. His most recent success came with Amberleigh House in 2004, who also makes the list of most memorable winners over the last couple of decades. McCain’s most famous horse was Red Rum who won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977. McCain used to train the prized horse on Southport beach as he believed the conditions there proved beneficial to his chaser.
One of the hardest jobs horse racing trainers have today is keeping their horse fit all season. A number of the leading trainers now use water aerobics to help them recover from injuries as and when they occur. This is a low-impact technique, which allows them to exercise without putting any stress or pressure on a joint.
There are currently 50 horses in the running to start the 2017 Grand National, and all of the respective trainers will be doing everything they can over the next three weeks to get them to Aintree in the best shape they can be, as they bid to add their name to the history books.
