april 15th, my birthday. also, the day this year's grand national will be run.

​As someone who came to horse-racing at a very young age through the B.B.C.’s coverage of the Grand National it is unsurprising that of all sporting occasions the race remains closest to my heart. I love the race as a parent must love their only child and during the 9-minutes or so of its duration I inwardly pray, as a parent might do watching their son ride their first bike or take part in their first ‘dangerous’ sporting activity, that no harm befalls it, which, of course, refers to no horse losing its life. Equally, the pray extends to B.H.A. appointed officials not cocking-up, leaving the sport and the Grand National in particular with embarrassing egg on its face.
This year, fulfilling a wish/ambition of mine, the race will be run on my birthday for the first time. For most of its life the Grand National was dominant in the calendar, with virtually every top chaser entered, and was given precedence in the racing year. The middle of March is now given as a matter of course to the Cheltenham Festival, when once that time of year was the traditional time for the annual running of the Grand National.
Personally, I think it is wrong of the B.H.A. to squeeze in the great race wherever it might fit. The Grand National is, or at least was, the most famous race in the world and shouldn’t, in my eyes, play second fiddle to any other race-meeting in Britain or Ireland. But there you are, it is what it is. At least this year I get my wish to have the race run on my birthday, if I get to live a few more months, something not to be taken for granted at my age!
In 1954 (you can work out my age, if you wish) the race was run on 27th of March and was won by Royal Tan, trained by Vincent O’Brien and ridden by Bryan Marshall, the middle of Vincent’s staggering three Grand Nationals in a row, a fete unlikely to be seen again, I would bet. The first televised Grand National was 1960, won by Merryman, trained by Neville Crump and ridden by Gerry Scott. I believe the first Grand National I watched was the following year when Nicholas Silver won, beating Merryman by five-lengths, ridden by my boyhood hero Bobby Beasley and trained by Fred Rimell.
My favourite Grand National, a race that never becomes less agonising every time I re-watch the race, was 1973, the year Crisp so very nearly achieved the impossible task of achieving the impossible, narrowly losing out to Red Rum after treating the fiercesome fences with contempt. No horse would ever be capable of giving Red Rum 23Ibs around Aintree and beat him, not even Arkle. Yet he nearly did so. I will never consider 1973 as the start of Red Rum’s hat-trick; to me it will always be Crisp’s Grand National.
The entries for this year’s renewal is rather disappointing, with only 85 possible runners, 54 of which are trained in Ireland. Perversely, though there are only 31 British-trained horses entered, they represent, I believe, our best chance of wrestling the trophy back from the Irish for many a year. Ashtown Lad, Corach Rambler, Fiddleronthehoof, Ga Law, Happygolucky, Iwilldoit, Le Milos, Mister Coffey, Our Power, Remastered, Royale Pagaille, Secret Reprieve, Sporting John, The Big Breakaway and Threeunderthrufive, all have perfectly reasonable chances of winning. Of course, as you would expect, the Irish have the ante-post favourite in Noble Yeats and the second favourite in Longhouse Poet and third favourite in Any Second Now. Yet Remastered is joint second favourite, with Ashtown Lad, Corach Rambler Iwilldoit and Le Milos quoted at odds no longer than 20/1.
I was surprised to see Envoi Allen amongst the entries, and his stable companion the mare Gin on Lime, other than that the entry, apart from the small number, was as you might expect. You would have thought a prize fund of a million-quid would have tempted a few more, even if speculative, high-profile entries. Which allows for the impression that prize-money at the top-end cannot be as paltry as trainers make it out to be.
I always like to pick six to keep an eye on, a number that might be shortened or lengthened once the weights are announced. Lifetime Ambition and Remastered have been on my Grand National radar all season and top my early fancies. I have long said Royale Pagaille was more a Grand National than a Gold Cup horse and The Big Breakaway has taken my eye of late. Capodanno has class, though I worry he might be overburdened by the handicapper for such a young horse and Gaillard Du Mesnil seems to posses both stamina and a good way of jumping.
Remastered, Lifetime Ambition, Royale Pagaille, The Big Breakaway, Capodanno, Gaillard Du Mesnil.
Noble Yeats could easily end up with top-weight and as impressive as he was last year, and how deserving it would be for the talented Sean Bowen, I can’t see it happening. Any Second Now is 11 and age will possibly catch him out, an argument that could be said of any number of the entries. Conflated has class but they didn’t run him last year and probably won’t run him this year. Franco de Port looks, at least to me, to be a Grand National sort but Willie Mullins has it in his head that he is more a French National horse and with so many entries to chose from, it is likely France is what he will be kept for.
I always like to pick out complete no-hopers that might out-run their odds and the two that stand-out at present are Hill Sixteen, if its very soft on the day, and Happygolucky.
I would, though, like Tom Scudamore to go one better than his dad and win on Remastered. I just hope Brocade Racing stop being so squeamish and allow their trainer to give their horse the opportunity to join Native River as a legend of the sport.