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What they say: Grand National connections
The Randox Health Grand National is the highlight of the jump racing calendar. Here connections of the 40 runners have their say on the race.
1. The Last Samuri
Best price: 20-1
Trainer Kim Bailey said: "Last year jumping the second-last I thought we were going to win. Thinking that we'd done it was the biggest mistake we made so I didn't enjoy standing in second spot. It would be nice if we had last year's weight but we were never going to have that anyway. He's topweight for a perfectly good reason - he has very good form. I'm very happy with the way he's progressed. We haven't got a favourite's chance this year but we have a good chance of running well."
2. More Of That
Best price: 14-1
Trainer Jonjo O'Neill said: "He's not the horse he was. He's the best horse I've trained but you're not going to see that because he's had two wind operations. At the start of the season I thought he was a Gold Cup horse - and he is a Gold Cup horse, but, like a crashed car, a horse who has had problems like he's had is never the same. He's in great form, though, and I think he has a great chance."
3. Shantou Flyer
Best price: 66-1
Trainer Rebecca Curtis said: "I'm surprised he's as big a price as he is. Many people think he won't get the trip but I think the further he goes the better he'll be. All he does is stay. I was shocked he was 66-1. We bought him for this race."
5. Saphir Du Rheu
Best price: 22-1
Trainer Paul Nicholls said: "He had a hard enough race in the Gold Cup, as anyone who runs a career-best in that race would do. It's a good trial for the National, but I just hope it's not too soon after."
6. Roi Des Francs
Best price: 66-1
Trainer Gordon Elliott said: "Unlike our other two runners he hasn't run over the course. He's well but has plenty of weight."
7. Wounded Warrior
Best price: 66-1
Trainer Noel Meade said: "I've always thought of Wounded Warrior as a National type. He stays well and is a good jumper who has schooled well over National-type fences."
8. Wonderful Charm
Best price: 40-1
Trainer Paul Nicholls said: "Wonderful Charm ran in the Foxhunter, staying on really well, and likes better ground. It was too soft for him last year but if he enjoys it he's the sort who could run on through horses late on."
10. Blaklion
Best price: 14-1
Trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies said: "We have been waiting all season for this race. He ran really well at Haydock and is better off at the weights with Vieux Lion Rouge. Nothing worries us, except the other 39 horses."
11. Drop Out Joe
Best price: 66-1
Part-owner Robert Aplin said: "The injury was so serious that, even at Christmas time, we didn't think he'd race again, let alone run in a race like the Grand National. He's made a remarkable recovery and all the staff at Donnington Grove vets in Newbury were brilliant."
12. Le Mercurey
Best price: 66-1
Trainer Paul Nicholls said: "Le Mercurey has some good form and ran very well here behind Many Clouds. He was second in the Denman Chase behind the Gold Cup third [Native River]. Put a line through his last run, when the ground was so bad at Kelso, but seven-year-olds don't win the race."
13. The Young Master
Best price: 22-1
Rider Sam Waley-Cohen said: "This has been the horse's objective ever since we first saw him, so it's really exciting. It has been his target all season and we couldn't be happier with him."
14. Cause Of Causes
Best price: 16-1
Trainer Gordon Elliott said: "Cause Of Causes came out of his cross-country win at Cheltenham very well. He has experience over the course and the trip won't be a problem. The drying ground will suit."
15. Regal Encore
Best price: 66-1
Trainer Anthony Honeyball said: "After he won at Ascot someone mentioned his odds for the National and I laughed because at the time I wasn't convinced he was a National horse. We've warmed to the idea and when we schooled him over National fences he was alert and showed a sense of self-preservation. If he jumps economically and settles there's no reason why he wouldn't have a decent chance."
16. Vieux Lion Rouge
Best price: 12-1
Trainer David Pipe said: "He ticks a lot of the boxes. If he gets a bit of luck in running he'll run well. He's had a good prep. He has the experience over the fences. He didn't quite see a trip out last year but is a lot stronger this year. The ground won't be as soft as it was last season either. We're looking forward to it."
17. Definitly Red
Best price: 12-1
Trainer Brian Ellison said: "You'd have thought he's going to be popular having red in the name. He's in great form, he's 10lb well in. It's a question of whether he takes to the fences, but he's schooled over them well. I don't know about the trip but he stayed well at Doncaster, where they went a good gallop. He took it up five out and wasn't stopping. My only other runner finished 13th but he wasn't in the same class as this fellow. This horse is probably one of the best jumpers I've trained. The main thing is he performs well and comes back okay; if he wins it's a bonus."
18. Ucello Conti
Best price: 20-1
Trainer Gordon Elliott said: "People think Ucello Conti is a mudlark but I don't agree. He's got plenty of experience and has been around the course a couple of times. Like Cause Of Causes, he has to have a decent chance."
19. Double Shuffle
Best price: 50-1
Trainer Tom George said: "Double Shuffle is a funny horse and a tough horse with a bit of character, which is probably what you want in the National."
22. One For Arthur
Best price: 16-1
Trainer Lucinda Russell said: "Every aspect of his preparation has gone fine. The only things we can't control are the weather - he has form on good ground but soft would play to his strengths - and luck in running. His Becher run really gives us hope. The image still in my mind is him jumping the fences fantastically that day. Horses have to enjoy what they're doing and he clearly enjoyed himself that day."
23. Ballynagour
Best price: 80-1
Trainer David Pipe said: "He's not getting any younger but as everyone knows Ballynagour is a very good horse on his day. He was in the process of running a decent race last year going out on the second circuit and was creeping into it when he unseated at the 19th. He'll be David Noonan's first ride in the race."
24. O'Faolains Boy
Best price: 80-1
Trainer Rebecca Curtis said: "O'Faolains Boy has had lots of problems. He was quite unsound in the autumn. He seems as good as we've had him now. He did have a small wind op about six weeks ago. For his last two runs the ground was horrible. If he came back to within a stone of his old form he'd have a bit of a squeak."
25. Highland Lodge
Best price: 28-1
Trainer Jimmy Moffatt said: "He's done everything we've asked of him. This has been a long-term plan. He's fit and well, looks hard and has been freshened up. He hadn't run for the best part of eight months before the Becher Chase. That showed the horse runs well when fresh, I'm very happy with him. He's done several serious grass gallops. There is a palpable undercurrent of excitement."
26. Bishops Road
Best price: 66-1
Trainer Kerry Lee said: "He has been trained for the race all season and his preparation has gone well. We're delighted to have got him into the race as he was bought for the race and just missed out on a start last year."
27. Lord Windermere
Best price: 50-1
Rider Leighton Aspell said: "I'm hoping decent ground will bring about improvement in Lord Windermere's recent form. He's run some decent races over the winter but has just struggled in the ground."
28. Saint Are
Best price: 40-1
Trainer Tom George said: "Saint Are is coming here in exactly the same form as when he was second. He does hit flat spots, but I've been waiting for the right moment to use blinkers. I've been keeping them up my sleeve until now."
29. Vicente
Best price: 25-1
Trainer Paul Nicholls said: "Vicente won the Scottish National last year and has been trained all year for this. He's good in his coat for this time of year and the better the ground the better for him."
30. Just A Par
Best price: 50-1
Trainer Paul Nicholls said: "Just A Par didn't run as well last year when he didn't really like the soft. He then ran well in the bet365, staying on strongly. It depends what mood he's in really."
31. Measureofmydreams
Best price: 50-1
Trainer Noel Meade said: "Measureofmydreams, who was third in the four-miler at Cheltenham last year - so stamina won't be a problem, has schooled well over National-type fences."
32. Raz De Maree
Best price: 33-1
Trainer Gavin Cromwell said: "He's in great nick. The ground drying out isn't ideal as he lacks a gear and might struggle with the pace early on. He should be doing his best work towards the finish."
33. Stellar Notion
Best price: 66-1
Rider David Mullins said: "I can't wait. I thought I had a chance last year and I think Stellar Notion is the same sort of horse as Rule The World. He jumps, he travels and, for me, he ticks a lot of boxes."
34. Rogue Angel
Best price: 25-1
Trainer Mouse Morris said: "Rogue Angel is tough and he's won an Irish National. He ran well in the Thyestes at Gowran."
35. Cocktails At Dawn
Best price: 100-1
Trainer Nicky Henderson said: "I don't think stamina's a worry. He's in good form and he did school very well over those fences. This is one we want to win so let's go for it."
36. Thunder And Roses
Best price: 33-1
Trainer Mouse Morris said: "Thunder And Roses won an Irish National and his last run was good. He has turned himself inside out. He has come to himself over the last while."
37. Gas Line Boy
Best price: 80-1
Trainer Ian Williams said: "Hopefully he can improve on two years ago [fell at first]. His jumping is quite solid, although on the face of it he's running off quite a high mark."
38. Goodtoknow
Best price: 100-1
Trainer Kerry Lee said: "He has also been trained for the race all season and his preparation has also gone well. We're delighted to have got in the race."
39. La Vaticane
Best price: 125-1
Trainer David Pipe said: "She has run in the Topham before and run well. She'll love the fences and won't mind the ground. We'll ride her to creep into it and get the trip."
40. Doctor Harper
Best price: 66-1
Trainer David Pipe said: "He is a decent horse on his day and should like the trip. He has blinkers on to help him travel a bit better. He'd be a lively outsider."
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