That’s it’s for this year. Well done to all you winners out there. And many congratulations to the Waley-Cohen clan and trainer Emmet Mullins.
HIS. LAST. EVER. RIDE. 😮
— Aintree Racecourse (@AintreeRaces) April 9, 2022
Sam Waley Cohen wins the @RandoxHealth Grand National on NOBLE YEATS! #RandoxGrandNational pic.twitter.com/uYAMvjjCnK
Updated
Further placings here.
- 5. Fiddlerontheroof
- 6. Longhouse Poe
- 7. Freewheelin’ Dylan
- 8. Coko Beach
- 9. Escaria Ten
- 10. Romain De Senam
- 11. Samcro
- 12. Commodore
- 13. Class Conti
- 14. Blaklion
- 15. Lostintranslation
The rest failed to finish.
Updated
Robert and Felicity Waley-Cohen, the winning owners of Noble Yeats, collect the trophy, as does son Sam, with the rest of the clan looking on. This was a story just as emotional as that of Rachael Blackmore last year. The Grand National always throws up a story, and this year was no exception.
Updated
Sam Waley-Cohen, the winning jockey, a close pal of Prince William and Kate Middleton, has been a top rider for many years now, an amateur in only the sense that he didn’t get paid. He rode the winner in the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Long Run, one of the greatest of all races, beating Denman and Kauto Star as he did so.
Emmet Mullins, the winning trainer, speaks to ITV.
There was a long term plan and it seems to have come off. A month ago we were probably more confident but the more it went on, other peoples chances were being talked up and we went a bit cold. But we knew the form was there.
Here’s our snap report, with more to follow from Greg Wood.
It was the rider’s final ride, after announcing earlier this week that he would retire after this year’s race. “It’s a dream. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve got to say thank you, as it’s my last ever ride, to my dad [Robert Waley-Cohen, owner], for unwavering belief and love,” said the jockey afterwards.
“Over 23 years and never a cross word, never been anything but a dream. It’s been a love affair. To my wife, long-suffering, they aren’t all good days, there are bad days in this sport,” he added. “It’s a fairytale, a fantasy. There’s a lot of love and gratefulness. It’s getting on the right horses and getting the luck. You couldn’t make it up, could you?”
Footage of Ruby Walsh in the ITV box, and it’s footage of him cursing with head in hands as his dad Ted Walsh misses out again on Any Second Now. “Gutted,” he says. “I’m trying to be gracious in defeat.”
A word for Any Second Now ⭐️
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 9, 2022
🥈 2022 Grand National
🥉 2021 Grand National
So brave in defeat 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZzQeLYzbPJ
Robert Waley-Cohen’s still in tears by the way, understandably so. His boy done good.
Updated CV for @swaleycohen - some career for the amateur rider
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 9, 2022
🏆 Grand National
🏆 Cheltenham Gold Cup
🏆🏆 King George VI Chase
🏆 Kauto Star Novices' Chase
🏆 Denman Chase pic.twitter.com/vVtfvuwSE1
41 RIDES.
— Aintree Racecourse (@AintreeRaces) April 9, 2022
7 WINS.
And NOW the @RandoxHealth Grand National! pic.twitter.com/gzE3Ih1nib
Updated
5.15 Aintree Grand National result
- 1 Noble Yeats (Mr S Waley-Cohen) 50-1
- 2 Any Second Now (M P Walsh) 15-2 Fav
- 3 Delta Work (J W Kennedy) 10-1
- 4 Santini (Nick Scholfield) 33-1
- 5 Fiddlerontheroof (Brendan Powell) 12/1
- 40 ran
Updated
Waley-Cohen, the Aintree specialist, finally lands the big one. He won’t get the prize money as an amateur, but dad will. Ted Walsh, who trained the second placed Any Second Now, goes to offer congratulations to Robert Waley-Cohen, who is in tears. “Just fabulous,” says dad.
Updated
What a story, what a ride, he only announced his retirement yesterday. His last ever ride. “It’s a dream, I can’t believe it,” says Sam Waley-Cohen, paying tribute to his father, Robert. “It’s a fantasy,” he says. He pays tribute also to his late brother Thomas. “You couldn’t make it up, could you?”
Noble Yeats wins the Grand National!
Noble Yeats goes to the last in the lead, Any Second Now giving chase, Waley-Cohen versus Mark Walsh, and Noble Yeats has done it as he speeds to the line, in his, Sam Waley-Cohen’s, very last race. Wow wow wow! The amateur has done it, at 50/1.
Updated
5.15 Aintree Grand National
Koko Beach and Two For Gold lead over the Canal Turn, but Longhouse Poet steps into the lead. Koko Beach takes it up three from home. Noble Yeats is up there in a group of ten leading into the final two fences.
5.15 Aintree Grand National
They bypass the open ditch at the 18th, Samcro and Santini and Lostintranslation remain in touch as Koko Beach continues to stay up there. Top Ville Ben in midfield as Cloth Cap is pulled up before Becher’s.
5.15 Aintree Grand National
Discorama pulled up ahead of the 14th, as they go to the Chair. Two For Gold leads the field. Burrows Saint and Kildisart go at the Chair. Santini and Lostintranslation in touch at they go to the 17th. Snow Leopardess pulled up before the second circuit.
5.15 Aintree Grand National
Minella Times has gone at Valentine’s, last year’s winner. There’s a few fallers at the back of the field. Mighty Thunder struggles at the back. Koko Beach leads them over the Melling Road, with 13 jumped.
5.15 Aintree Grand National
It’s tentative at the start but they go off first time, with Longhouse Poet to the fore. Mount Ida and Enjoy d’Allen fall at the first fence. Anibal Fly and Eclair Surf go at the second. To Becher’s they go, with Coko Beach leading them over.
Updated
Any Second Now goes off favourite at 15/2, with Run Wild Fred at 8/1 coming in after a big bet for the Gigginstown horse.
Always some nerves before this race, with the hope that all the horses and jockeys get home safely. This is the occasion when the general public are watching, and it’s the race that can be the most dangerous.
The bell rings, and here comes the National Anthem, it’s a packed house at Aintree, a far cry from those 1970s and 1980s scenes you see when there’s very people there. It’s a track befitting of the occasion these days. The horses take the slow walk to the start, a few looking over the practice fence before they line up.
“We will see if he enjoys the fences,” says trainer Polly Gundry of Santini, second place in the Gold Cup of 2020, an absolute boat of a horse, HMS Santini they call him.
5.15 Aintree Grand National preview
The first point to remember when attempting to sift the Grand National winner from 40 possibilities is that it has never been about finding the best horse in the race. William Lynn, its founder, was an Aintree landlord who wanted to attract customers to his hotel, and created a steeplechase run over local fields and obstacles that guaranteed a decent payout for anyone who could find the winner.
Nearly two centuries after Lottery – the 5-1 favourite – became the first horse to win, the National is more competitive than ever and luck, good and bad, always has a huge hand in the outcome. Minella Times and Any Second Now plotted similar routes through last year’s race until the 12th, where a faller brought Any Second Now to a standstill. Had Double Shuffle fallen in front of Minella Times instead, we would still be waiting for a first National victory by a female jockey.
Rachael Blackmore’s instincts and skill also played a major part, and her remarkable ability to find the smoothest path to the line, even amid the bedlam of a Grand National, will be even more important on Saturday as she looks for a repeat success on Minella Times from a 15lb higher mark.
The form of last year’s race, however, strongly suggests that Any Second Now is a much likelier winner, and with any luck in running, it is hard to see him finishing outside the top four. The form of his narrow defeat of Escaria Ten last time also looks rock-solid, and Gordon Elliott’s gelding is another prime candidate for the frame, along with Enjoy D’Allen. But Ted Walsh’s gelding is also up in the weights, and this is no longer a race in which previous experience of the obstacles is a significant advantage. The last five horses to win the National were seeing the famous fences for the first time, and the biggest threat to Any Second Now is likely to come from a younger, progressive opponent with less weight to carry.
No horse in this year’s field fits that description quite like Longhouse Poet (nap 5.15), whose campaign has been built around Saturday’s race by a trainer who knows exactly what is required.
Martin Brassil won the 2006 National with his first runner, Numbersixvalverde, and having saddled the same horse to finish sixth a year later, he did not return to Aintree until 2014, when Double Seven, the joint-favourite, finished third. Longhouse Poet was a deeply impressive winner of the Thyestes Chase in January, a race that Numbersixvalverde won in the season before his National success, and has been kept fresh since a run over hurdles in February. At around 16-1 with most bookmakers, he is an excellent bet to give Brassil a second victory in the world’s greatest steeplechase.
Ted Walsh lives up true to form in his TV chat with ITV’s Matt Chapman. “We are lucky to be alive, we could be in a war somewhere.” On his horse, Any Second Now he is hopeful he can go better than last year when third, but not giving too much away. He trained the winner of the 2000 Grand National, Papillon, ridden by son Ruby.
5.15 Aintree Grand National odds
- Any Second Now – 9/1
- Minella Times – 10/1
- Snow Leopardess – 12/1
- Longhouse Poet – 12/1
- Delta Work – 14/1
- Run Wild Fred – 14/1
- Éclair Surf – 16/1
- Fiddlerontheroof – 16/1
- Enjoy D’Allen – 20/1
- Good Boy Bobby – 22/1
- Escaria Ten – 25/1
- Cloth Cap – 33/1
- Fortescue – 33/1
- Commodore – 33/1
- Burrows Saint – 40/1
- School Boy Hours – 40/1
- Two For Gold – 40/1
- Discorama – 40/1
- Dingo Dollar – 40/1
- Mighty Thunder – 40/1
- Death Duty – 40/1
- Santini – 40/1
- Freewheelin Dylan – 50/1
- Lostintranslation – 50/1
- Kildisart – 50/1
- De Rasher Counter – 50/1
- Noble Yeats – 66/1
- Mount Ida – 66/1
- Blacklion – 66/1
- Blacklion – 66/1
- Deise Aba – 80/1
- Coko Beach – 80/1
- Top Ville Ben – 80/1
- Anibal Fly – 80/1
- Samcro – 100/1
- Agusta Gold – 100/1
- Brahma Bull – 100/1
- Poker Party – 100/1
- Domaine De Lisle – 125/1
- Class Conti – 125/1
- Romain De Senam – 125/1
- Find the latest odds at Oddschecker
The jockeys are out for their photo call, with Sam Waley-Cohen, the amateur and dentist tycoon, in the colours of his father, Robert, on Noble Yeats. Sam will retire after this race, having ridden Long Run to the Cheltenham Gold Cup and a couple of King Georges and decade ago or so. He’s also an Aintree specialist who has never landed the big one. This is his last chance. “It would be a nice fairytale,” he says. “You’ve got to be in it to win it.”
Updated
Rich Ricci, whose trademark mullet appears to have had something of a trim, seems a bit guarded on Burrows Saint, fourth last year. “Golly, we have had his wind done, we were disappointed with him at Fairyhouse, we’ll see.” You can back the Saint at around 40/1.
Updated
Latest update on Captain Conby who went back to the stables for further veterinary assessment after his fall in the second race. He is fine and will be going home very shortly.
A rundown of the three leading horses in the betting
Any Second Now 8/1 current fav (10yo, 11st 8lb)
Every Grand National has a hard luck story or three, but few match this one’s tale of woe 12 months ago. Ted Walsh’s runner was travelling sweetly, not far off the lead, when he was stopped in his tracks by a faller at the 12th, losing at least a dozen lengths. Mark Walsh worked his way back into contention two out and was still disputing second at the Elbow, a remarkable effort in the circumstances. He is 7lb higher in the ratings this year, which is more than fair on his 2021 form, and has been freshened up since winning a Grade Three in February. With a bit more luck, he will be very tough to keep out of the frame.
Minella Times 10/1 (nine yo, 11st 10lb)
Carried his rider into the history books 12 months ago as a flawless, ground-saving ride by Rachael Blackmore kept him out of trouble and in the right place to strike for home two out. A similar no-nonsense performance in the saddle can be expected but he is 15lb higher in the ratings and it is nearly half a century since Red Rum became the last top weight to win. Repeat wins in the National are extremely rare for a reason – all the stars need to align just to win once –, never mind with more lead in the saddle. A gallant run into fifth or sixth is probably a more plausible outcome.
Snow Leopardess 10/1 (10yo, 10st 9lb)
Charlie Longsdon’s mare has plenty of the attributes you look for in a winner, up to and including Hollywood blockbuster potential – she would be the first mum to win the race. Snow Leopardess gave birth to a filly foal during an 18-month absence from the track, but that is just one strand of a remarkable storyline involving her breeder, 80-year-old Marietta Fox-Pitt. “I wasn’t any different after I had children,” Fox-Pitt says when asked why she sent Snow Leopardess back into training, “so why should she be?” Recuperated with Marietta’s son, the event rider William Fox-Pitt and his wife, Alice Plunkett, part of the ITV Racing team, so her post-race interview has the potential to be teary TV gold. Odds of around 9-1 are short enough as she did not have a huge amount to spare at the end of the Becher Chase in December.
Around 45 minutes to go until the big one, the race that (probably) still stops a nation. This music, from the film Champions, can bring a tear to the eye of even the hardest-hearted punter. Bob Champion, Aldaniti, *sob*.
Updated
4.15 Aintree handicap chase result
- 1 Sam Brown (Aidan Coleman) 28-1
- 2 Shan Blue (Harry Skelton) 5-2 Fav
- 3 Killer Kane (Brendan Powell) 6-1
- 14 ran
The winning rider of that race on Sam Brown, Aidan Coleman, rides Snow Leopardess in the Grand National, currently at odds of 11/1, 10/1 in other places.
👏 A brilliant performance from Sam Brown who powers to victory for @AidanColeman & @AJHoneyball at @AintreeRaces to record his third win over fences
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 9, 2022
Results & free replays ➡ https://t.co/sBcsavHpYf pic.twitter.com/PBluFkuPIJ
Updated
Sam Brown wins the 4.15 Aintree handicap chase!
They go off past the stands with Wishing And Hoping taking an early lead, and jumping like a stag. But a long way to go, and with 12 out he leads Didero Vallis. Espoir De Romay makes a mistake under David Bass, though all are on their feet as they reach halfway. Shan Blue steps up to sixth, biding his time perhaps. Espoir De Romay is pulled up in front of the stands, having never recovered from that missed jump. Wishing And Hoping continues to lead, Sam Brown closest to him as Oscar Elite is pulled up. Shan Blue steps into second as Wishing And Hoping takes it away, only Shan Blue in any kind of touch with three to jump. Shan Blue gets closer, and goes clear going to the second as Sam Brown takes it up and storms into the leader, a well-timed win from Aidan Coleman, with Shan Blue a long way back. Killer Kane and Tea Clipper follow them in. A big winner for Anthony Honeyball’s horse at 28/1.
JP McManus is having a decent Aintree so far with Gentleman De Mee and Sire Du Berlais winning today to add to wins for Epatante, Jonbon and Fakir D’oudairies.
In the big one, he has Minella Times, School Boy Hours, Any Second Now at the top of the weights with Enjoy d’Allen, Anibale Fly both at 10.11. JP being JP he has a raft of trainers employed from Henry de Bromhead, Noel Meade, Ted Walsh, Ciaran Murphy and Tony Martin.
Any Second Now, ridden by in-form Mark Walsh, is current favourite for the Grand National at 9/1, 8/1 in other places.
Updated
On ITV, Simone Biles no less, has been paying tribute to Rachael Blackmore, including for being leading jockey at last year’s “Chelten-ham.”
4.15 Aintree handicap chase
- Shan Blue – 11/4
- Tea Clipper – 11/2
- Oscar Elite – 15/2
- Cap Du Nord – 15/2
- Espoir De Romay – 8/1
- Killer Kane – 17/2
- Wishing and Hoping – 25/1
- Admirel – 25/1
- BAR – 33/1
- Latest odds on Oddschecker
4.15 Aintree handicap chase preview
Aintree 4.15 A hot handicap chase to tee up the National. Plenty are in with a shout but at the likely odds, Killer Kane could be a decent each-way option to follow-up his win in a Listed handicap at Sandown Park last time.
3.35 Aintree Liverpool Hurdle result
- 1 Sire Du Berlais (M P Walsh) 16-1
- 2 Flooring Porter (D E Mullins) 11-8 Fav
- 8 ran
Updated
Mark Walsh, on a double for the day, pays another tribute to Sire Du Berlais’ trainer Gordon Elliott. “He had him in tip-top shape.” That was a surprise win but one from a class horse that’s won two Pertemps Hurdles at Cheltenham, even if he did struggle in the same race this year. There looked to be a little bit of interference at the finish but the race was won by Sire Du Berlais, at a very decent 16/1.
👀 Sire Du Berlais is first-past-the-post in the JRL Liverpool Hurdle for @gelliott_racing to continue a stunning week for Mark Walsh & JP McManus @AintreeRaces pic.twitter.com/fS9obvZx9o
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 9, 2022
Updated
Sire Du Berlais wins the 3.35 Liverpool Hurdle!
Flooring Porter looks a bit sketchy at the start, while Champ is well-backed in at 3-1. Flooring Porter goes off at the front under Danny Mullins, with Thyme Hill taking a watching brief. The crowd is raucous as they go past the stands. Champ sits in midfield, with Molly Ollys Wishes in third. Flooring Porter well in front with nine to jump, but no real pace or pressure being put down. And with seven to jump, Flooring Porter takes a commanding lead, albeit with a long way to go, halfway in fact. The pack closes in on him as they go again past the stands. Champ is in fourth and a long way off the lead with five still to go as Flooring Porter attempts to run the finish out of the rest. Thyme Hill is set to work on as Sire Du Berlais closes in on Flooring Porter. Champ drops back. Sire De Berlais chases down Flooring Porter as they go to the last. It’s very close but Sire Du Berlais edges away and wins for Mark Walsh, JP McManus and Gordon Elliot. It looks like Champ got third but they were way back.
Updated
The next race is a reunion of the main protagonists of a high quality Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham last month, minus the redoubtable Paisley Park.
An impeccably judged front-running ride by Danny Mullins helped Flooring Porter retain his status as the leading stayer over timber at Cheltenham on Thursday, on a St Patrick’s Day afternoon when Irish-trained horses took all three of the Grade One events.
Mullins had a grip on the three-mile Stayers’ Hurdle from the off, jumping into a handy lead as Klassical Dream, the favourite and another potential front-runner, proved reluctant to start before settling towards the rear. The 2019 winner, Paisley Park, who was also reluctant to line up before his last race, jumped off with the field but never threatened to land a blow as Mullins dictated from the head of the field.
Flooring Porter was still travelling strongly on the turn for home and though Thyme Hill stayed on well into second, Mullins’s mount was still nearly three lengths to the good at the line.
Updated
3:35 Aintree Liverpool Hurdle odds
- Flooring Porter – 6/4
- Thyme Hill – 5/2
- Champ – 7/2
- Thomas Darby – 22/1
- Koshari – 25/1
- Sure Du Berlais – 22/1
- Molly Ollys Wishes – 28/1
- Roi Mage – 125/1
- Latest odds at Oddschecker
Updated
3.35 Aintree Liverpool Hurdle preview
Flooring Porter showed at Cheltenham last month that he is very difficult to beat if he gets a soft lead, but Tom O’Brien, who chased him home on Thyme Hill, will be more alive than ever to the danger and last year’s winner could be a value bet at around 3-1 to reverse the Festival form.
Updated
3.00 Aintree Maghull Novice Chase result
- 1 Gentleman De Mee (M P Walsh) 7-2
- 2 Edwardstone (Tom Cannon) 4-7 Fav
- 3 Third Time Lucki (Harry Skelton) 9-2
- 6 ran
Updated
Edwardstone maybe a bit tired, but we are told Alan King is making no excuses and really rates Gentleman De Mee, who looks to be a class horse in that 2m bracket, which includes Edwardstone, Shishkin and this year’s Champion Chaser, Energumene. The short distance chasing looks to have the greater depth at the moment.
“He’s a very forward-going horse, he wings fences,” says Mark Walsh of Gentleman De Mee. “It’s always good to have a winner before you go in the National.” Walsh rides Any Second Now for Ted Walsh in the big one later.
Gentleman De Mee wins the 3.00 Aintree Maghull Novice Chase!
Gentleman De Mee takes it up in this 2m chase, just about Champion Chase distance. Amarillo Sky sits in second, with Edwardstone biding time in fourth before slipping up to third as they go past the stands. Mark Walsh continues to take Gentleman De Mee out in front as Edwardstone dallies. Third Time Lucki misses one and almost unseats Harry Skelton, as Gentleman De Mee heads off to the last with quite a lead over Edwardstone who has been flat. A fine ride by Mark Walsh, and a win for JP McManus and Willie Mullins with Edwardstone well beaten for pace and jumping.
Updated
And the sad news is that Elle Est Belle has been confirmed to have passed away while Captain Conby was walked into the horse ambulance to be given further tests by the vet.
RIP Elle Est Belle - gone but never forgotten
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 9, 2022
🏇 Nine runs
🥇 Five wins
🏆 Three-time Listed scorer
⭐️ Thanks for memories
♥️ Our thoughts are with @DSkeltonRacing & his team pic.twitter.com/QwZdrzna8q
Updated
Further news is that Captain Conby took a heavy fall in that last race, and like Elle Est Belle, we await further news on the Irish-trained horse.
3.00 Aintree Maghull Novice Chase odds
- Edwardstone – 8/15
- Gentleman De Mee – 9/2
- Third Time Lucki – 5/1
- Amarillo Sky – 33/1
- Mick Pastor – 66/1
- For Pleasure – 66/1
- Latest odds at Oddschecker
Updated
3.00 Aintree Maghull Novice Chase preview
Edwardstone is as tough and reliable as they come and was a comfortable winner of the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham last month. He is a worthy odds-on shot to complete a six-timer with his third Grade One success of the campaign.
Updated
The news on Elle Est Belle is not good. The screens were up in front of the stands and the winning post, and it looks like bad news for her connections.
Davy Russell’s post-win interview compared racing, Liverpool and Aintree to “sausage and beans”. Jockeys do a lot of thinking about food, especially those like Davy who are in their 40s and fighting the spread. He paid tributes to connections, including “the boss man”, Gordon Elliot, who had a poor Cheltenham on his return to the sport.
👋 The @_Davy_Russel_ celebration @AintreeRaces #RandoxGrandNational pic.twitter.com/W91ctqbU6t
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 9, 2022
Updated
2.25 Aintree novice hurdle result
- 1. Three Stripe Life 5/2 f
- 2. Might I 16/1
- 3. North Lodge 11/2
- 12 rans
Updated
Three Stripe Life wins the 2.25 Aintree novice hurdle
A quiet start to the race. Three Stripe Life is in midfield as Stage Star leads them past the stands. Colonel Mustard is in there, too. North Lodge begins to drop back as does Walking On Air. Stage Star leads with three to jump. Three Stripe Life well poised, and pushes on under Davy Russell who sets to work as they come to the last. He scampers over the last, and wins by about five lengths. Too good. Might I comes in second, and North Lodge finds a way out of the traffic to finish third. Sadly, it must be reported that Elle Est Belle collapsed at the line when finishing fourth, the Skelton horse. It looks like a heart attack.
Updated
All eyes on Rachael.
You just can’t compare that feeling of crossing the line, it was just a phenomenal feeling and it’s a race that every kid wants to ride in. When you’re growing up, this is the race that captures your imagination and it’s just very special to be able to say that you’ve won it. I’ve definitely seen the replay of last year’s race more times than I can count.
There’s definitely a massive global reach and I really felt that after last year. The media attention after Cheltenham last year [where Blackmore was the first female rider to finish as the meeting’s top jockey] was massive, but after the Grand National it just seemed to explode again. It seems to reach parts of the world that no other races do.
2.25 Aintree novice hurdle odds
- Three Stripe Life – 10/3
- Walking On Air – 7/2
- Good Risk At All – 6/1
- North Lodge – 6/1
- Elle Est Belle – 8/1
- Stage Star – 12/1
- Might I – 12/1
- Colonel Mustard – 14/1
- Neil’s Son – 33/1
- BAR – 40/1
- Latest odds at Oddschecker
Aintree 2.25 novice hurdle
Several of these have experience at Grade One level while Good Risk At All is making the step up from handicaps, but the form of his easy win at Ascot in February is backed up by a strong time and early odds of around 7-1 underestimate his chance.
Minella Times, last year’s winner, is co-favourite and has to be favourite to go off as favourite, the star quality of Rachael Blackmore pulling punters its way.
Just under four hours until the #RandoxGrandNational and here is the latest betting. It's wide-open and the bookmakers are going 11/1 the field. pic.twitter.com/R5d2lH2LiY
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 9, 2022
1.45 Aintree handicap hurdle result
- 1 Party Business (C J Todd) 11-2
- 2 Ilikedwayurthinkin (M P Walsh) 16-1
- 3 Mill Green (Nico de Boinville) 18-1
- 4 Beauport (J Nailor) 10-1
- 21 ran
Updated
If you’re interested, Snow Leopardess wins the Virtual Grand National from Any Second and Delta Work. The most famous winner of that race was Potters Corner in 2020 when no actual race could be staged.
THE WINNER OF THE 2022 VIRTUAL GRAND NATIONAL IS ...
— The Virtual Grand National 2022 (@TheVirtualGN) April 8, 2022
SNOW LEOPARDESS!
That's a wrap! Were your predictions correct? 👀#VGN22 #HorseRacing #GrandNational2022 #AintreeFestival #Winner #VirtualGrandNational pic.twitter.com/Rbl1cyBi2L
The winning jockey there was Charlie Todd and Ian Williams the trainer, with the first four in that race coming from a long way back in race that went off like the clappers from the start.
👏 Cracking performance from Party Business who lands the opener on #RandoxGrandNational day for @ianwilliamsraci & @charliet0dd at @AintreeRaces pic.twitter.com/Im56ahvvkF
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 9, 2022
Updated
Party Business wins the 1.45 Aintree handicap hurdle!
A big crowd already on course at Liverpool, as Winter Fog and Serious Charges go off as co-favourites. It’s a testy start, so they are asked to turn back and go again. Dans Le Vent falls at the first, and Isabelle Williams, the jockey takes a heavy fall but is led away looking OK. Master Debonaire is in the lead in the early stages, accompanied by the outsider, Bushypark, a long run out in front. Party Business is sat out the back as they go past the stands. Remastered takes a step into the reckoning as the crowd cheers them by. Master Debonaire is followed in by Remastered as they go down the back. Serious Charges moves up through the field as they head to the last in the back straight as Remastered makes something of a blunder. Ilikedwayurthinkin makes a move, and Winter Fog is in touch as Remastered heads Whatsnottoknow. Plenty of chances as they head on, with Party Business and Ilikedwayurthinkin go over the last together and it’s Party Business takes it from Ilikedwayurthinkin, with Mill Green third and Beauport in fourth.
Photograph: Steve Davies/racingfotos.com/Shutterstock
Updated
The horses are going down to post for the first race of the day, which as Greg says looks a very competitive race.
1.45 Aintree handicap hurdle preview
National day kicks off with an ultra-competitive handicap hurdle in which the upwardly-mobile Serious Charges attempts to extend his winning sequence to four against a couple of well-fancied rivals who showed up well at the Cheltenham Festival. Serious Charges swerved that meeting and ran at Uttoxeter’s Midlands National meeting instead, making short work of 11 rivals on his handicap debut, a performance which has seen him hiked 13lb in the weights. Winter Fog was a big eye-catcher in the Pertemps Final, running on from well off the pace to finish fourth, while Party Business had a luckless time of it in the Martin Pipe conditionals’ race and finished with running left. Remastered is another interesting runner – and possibly the best bet at the odds – as David Pipe’s gelding returns to hurdling after a wind op on what could be a very lenient mark based on some of his performances over fences earlier in the year.
1.45 Aintree handicap hurdle odds
- Winter Fog – 5/1
- Serious Changes – 11/2
- Party Business – 11/2
- Remastered – 8/1
- Beausport – 12/1
- Dans Le Vent – 12/1
- Mill Green – 14/1
- If The Cap Fits – 14/1
- Ilikedwayurthinkin – 18/1
- Pounding Poet – 20/1
- BAR – 25/1
- Latest odds at Oddschecker
Good afternoon, everyone. As a taster, I’ve just watched a virtual Grand National legends race in which Red Rum, of course, held off Arkle and Kauto Star, two horses who never actually ran in the National, though Arkle did win the 1964 Irish Grand National. Way back in the field was Sprinter Sacre, not at all suited to course and distance.
And as we approach the Melling Road, it’s over to John Brewin ...
Owner JP McManus became an “Aintree Legend” when he was inducted into the Aintree Hall of Fame by racecourse chairman Nicholas Wrigley this morning at the track.
McManus, famous for his tilts at the ring over the years, has owned two Grand National winners to date – Don’t Push It, ridden by AP McCoy to a long-awaited victory in 2010, and Minella Times, on whom Rachael Blackmore became the first woman win the Grand National in 2021.
A plaque bearing McManus’s name now hangs on the Hall of Fame wall in McCoy’s Bar – named after the legendary 20-times champion jump jockey, the rider best known for wearing McManus’s unmistakable green-and-gold silks.
McManus said: “I didn’t come here until 1976 [Rag Trade won that year]. Then I was here for all of them except for the year of Foot and Mouth Disease [2001]. I’ve had some wonderful memories here and it would be unfair to pick one over the others, but the day that Don’t Push It won was very, very special. We’ve had a few disappointments, but you just celebrate the wins and forget about everything else.
“I love it, I look forward to it very much. And I hope that my grandkids who are here this year - all of them except my namesake, JP – I hope they want to come every year. It’s lovely to have them here.”
Updated
Big queues to get in for a view near the famous Melling Road!
Grand National Melling Road queues #GrandNational2022 #AintreeFestival #Liverpool pic.twitter.com/hME8vfKsi5
— Colin Lane (@snapperlane) April 9, 2022
At The Races presenter Gina Bryce has made Tiger Roll her focus of attention - he’s at the track in a parade of champions. What a crying shame he’s not running today!
The legend in the house #tigerroll 🐅 pic.twitter.com/bcCzQWSRAr
— Gina Bryce (@GinaBryce) April 9, 2022
An occupational hazard of being a racing journalist is usually being asked for a tip when you reveal what you do for a living and I’ve been busy this morning answering requests for horses to back in the National. It’s a much tougher task now than before the fences were altered, the handicapping was tinkered with and the better horses started being targeted at the prize.
It’s genuinely wide open these days and my fancies against the field are Any Second Now, Longhhouse Poet, Eclair Surf and Enjoy D’Allen in that order but I firmly believe the best bet of the day is to oppose the “dream result” and lay Minella Times with Rachael Blackmore on board. It’s incredibly tough to complete repeat wins in the National and her mount has much more weight and has hardly been in the best of form. A press release from the people at BestofBets.com caught my eye this morning - they are forecasting a record on the betting front with “the volume of bets placed set to be increased by nearly 20%” and highlight the money this morning “pouring in on Minella Times”. Blackmore is going to be hugely popular with the once-a-year punters but I can’t see the fairytale happening this time.
Updated
Early non-runner news (and the reasons for absence)
1:45pm EFT Construction Handicap Hurdle
2 Third Wind (Going)
2:25pm Betway Mersey Novices’ Hurdle
5 Harbour Lake (Vet’s Certificate, Lame)
3.00pm Poundland Maghull Novices’ Chase
4 Fugitif (Going)
3.35pm JRL Group Liverpool Hurdle
1 Ashdale Bob (Vet’s Certificate, Other)
4.15pm Betway Handicap Chase
3 Empire Steel (Vet’s Certificate, Lame)
8 Commodore (Other - runs in Grand National)
6.20pm Weatherbys Standard Open NHF Race
4 Crambo (Self Certificate, Going)
15 Rockinastorm (Going)
Updated
Heavy shower at Aintree
Can the forecasters (weather or tipsters) get it right today? It’s not easy ...
11:45 - Heavy rain at Aintree
— Francis Keogh (@HonestFrank) April 9, 2022
Updated
Preamble
Good morning from Aintree, where a sell-out crowd of 70,000 is steadily assembling – for the first time in three years – to watch 40 horses tackle the most famous obstacles in jump racing. The race that makes the world sit up and take notice is now just hours away.
When you are used to seeing images of the packed grandstands at Cheltenham or Aintree, it is easy to forget that racing over fences is, for the most part, very much a north-west European thing. It’s big in Britain, Ireland and France, but not even on the radar in Australia or the United States, where Flat racing is the only game in town.
But the Grand National cuts through. It has global “reach”, as Rachael Blackmore, last year’s winning jockey, put it this week, while discussing the fan mail she has received from around the world after her history-making victory on Minella Times 12 months ago.
A worldwide television audience of 500 million has been bandied about this week, which can only be a guesstimate but may not be too far off the mark. And William Hill reported a few years ago that they expected to take Grand National bets from 140 countries, another sign of the appetite for steeplechasing’s most famous race in every corner of the globe.
The crazy uncertainty helps. You can come to the National completely cold and have almost as much chance of finding the winner as the form book bores. There is nothing like it, anywhere on Planet Earth, and this afternoon’s winner will join the most storied roll of honour in racing.
This year’s race is as open as any for years, with Minella Times and Blackmore edging to the top of the market at 10-1 overnight, and no fewer than nine other horses shorter than 20-1. When a horse with the proven talent of Samcro, a Grade One winner both over hurdles and fences, is 30th in the list at around 80-1, you can be sure that this is a race where almost anything is possible.
Any one of half a dozen could end up at the top of the market by race time at 5.15pm, however, with Any Second Now, Delta Work and Snow Leopardess all popular at 11-1 and Eclair Surf, who was not guaranteed to run until the final declarations on Thursday morning, is a 14-1 chance. There could also be money for Longhouse Poet as the afternoon goes on, given his trainer Martin Brassil’s remarkable 1-6-3 record with his only three runners in the race to date.
It is a bright, sunny and distinctly chilly day in the north-west, just as it was on Friday, and that persuaded Sulekha Varma, the clerk of the course, to put 5mm of water onto the Grand National course overnight and 3mm onto the hurdle and Mildmay courses, which stage the remainder of today’s seven races.
The action gets underway at 1.45pm, when Blackmore, who was unseated from her first ride of the week over the National fences on Friday, will ride Emitom, her only other mount on the card. A full guide to all the Grand National runners is here, some thoughts on the big race and the rest of the ITV Racing action are here, and you will find all the news, results and much, much more here on the blog as the day unfolds. Happy Grand National!
Updated
