The Making of a Grand National Champion: Training, Strategy and Luck
The Grand National is perhaps the most prestigious race in all of horse racing. Fresh off the back of the Cheltenham Festival, which saw Irish domination this year at Prestbury Park, Aintree is once again ready to open its doors to the thousands ready to pack out the grandstands, enjoy the festivities and place a Grand National bet.
To win the Grand National is to cement your legacy in the sport’s history books. Having overcome the rest of the competition and survived one of the most gruelling courses, it’s all worth it to bask in the adulation of the adoring crowd, and you only have to look at how special last year’s 50/1 outsider Noble Yeats must have felt when he became the first winner back with a full crowd after behind closed doors events in 2020 and 2021.
Indeed, if the atmosphere is even a fraction as deafening as last year then we are surely in for a treat. The National’s unpredictability means picking a favourite is incredibly tough to call, but the winning formula often boils down to a cocktail of training, strategy and luck.
A good trainer can prove all the difference when it comes to winning the National. Over the years we’ve seen the legendary Ginger McCain earn statues with Red Rum and more recently Tiger Roll dominate in Merseyside thanks to the great work of Gordon Elliott. It’s hard to recreate the same variables as a big race day like the National and it’s a completely different experience to that of a run-out at Ascot or Cheltenham. Therefore, having a special trainer can be all the difference when it comes to getting the job done.
A strategy is always hard to devise at the National as the conditions on the day are never guaranteed. You can’t plan for specific ground in the same way and with the tricky hurdles like Becher’s Brook, the Chair, Canal Turn and Foinavon, anyone could fall at any time regardless of form. Planning for every situation is usually the best advice, with previous winners staying on despite some tough moments and waiting for the right time to strike.
Sometimes all the form guides and training go out of the window though, and a complete outsider will prevail to the surprise of everyone. There’s been some longshots come in before with even last year’s winner Noble Yeats a 50/1 for Sam Waley-Cohen to try and end his career with. This year the favourite Any Second Now will be hoping for a huge slice of luck after third and second-place finishes in the last respective years. His trainer Ted Walsh didn’t sound too confident the 11-year-old can get the job done this time around due to the weights, but if he can conjure a bit of that Aintree magic he could still make history.
“All I can say is that I know he’s not Red Rum, I know he’s not a Crisp and he’s not a L’Escargot, so make your own mind up,” said the trainer. “I’m absolutely shocked that he has top-weight. He goes there in as good form as he did last year. He is in as good nick as he was last year, but he’s got top-weight so make your own mind up.
“I think he’d have to be an exceptional horse to win it with top-weight.”