Leading contenders for Grand National

The 2024 Grand National is edging ever closer, and here we look at the leading contenders for the Grand National Steeple Chase at Aintree in April.

Anticipation has been growing amongst horse racing fans from across the country and indeed the world, with eyes now set on the 2024 Grand National at Aintree Racecourse with this year’s Cheltenham Festival now over. Three days of enthralling action will take place from Thursday, 11th April to Saturday, 13th April 2024.

There are a total of 21 races taking place over the course of this year’s renewal, which includes some fantastic races, from the Manifesto Novices’ Steeple Chase on the opening day to the Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race, which takes place on the third and final day, better known as ‘Randox Grand National Day’.

Whilst there are a number of eye-catching races to take place at the 2024 Grand National, there is one in particular that stands out amongst the rest. And that is, of course, this year’s edition of the Randox Grand National Steeple Chase that takes place on the final day at 16:00pm on the afternoon of Saturday, 13th April 2024.

The Grand National has a long and illustrious history. The first edition of this famous race took place at Aintree in 1839, and it was Jem Mason, riding Lottery, who won it that year. Lottery’s trainer, George Dockeray, went on to win this race a further two times in 1840 (with Jerry) and 1842 (with Gaylad).

The jockey with the most wins in this race is George Stevens, who won this race 5 times between 1856 and 1870. The horses he rode to victory in these renewals were Freetrader, Emblem, Emblematic and The Colonel.

Red Rum is one of the most famous and iconic horses in the history of the sport of horse racing, and currently holds the record of the most wins of any horse in the entire 185 year history of the Aintree Grand National with 3 wins which took place in 1973, 1974 and 1977. The jockeys for these wins were Brian Fletcher (1973, 1974) and Tommy Stack (1977).

The most recent winner in 2023’s renewal of the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse was Corach Rambler, who was ridden by jockey Derek Fox and trained by Lucinda Russell. This was the second win in this famous race for Fox and Russell, whose only previous victory came in 2017 with One For Arthur.

Now we move on to the 2024 renewal of this race, and here we take a look at a few horses who are seen as amongst the leading contenders to emerge victorious and add their name to what is an illustrious list of winners from over the years.

I Am Maximus

I Am Maximus has been putting in some good performances recently, making him among the front runners to emerge victorious in this year’s renewal of the 2024 Grand National at Aintree.

His most recent race saw him take to the track at Fairyhouse Racecourse back on 24th February in the Tote.ie Bobbyjo Chase, where Jockey Jody McGarvey managed to ride I Am Maximus to victory ahead of Vanillier and Minella Crooner in second and third place respectively. What made this victory all the more impressive was the fact that the margin of the lead between I Am Maximus and 2023 Grand National runner-up Vanillier being 14 lengths.

Galopin Des Champs, the winner of the 2024 Cheltenham Gold Cup did, also win the Savills Chase in December 2023 and the Irish Gold Cup in early February 2024, but I Am Maximus still put in impressive performances, chasing his stablemate down on both occasions. It was a 4th and 3rd place finish for the Willie Mullins trained horse in these two races.

Corach Rambler

We now move onto another horse who some see as amongst the favourites to win the 2024 Randox Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree. Corach Rambler has been previously mentioned in this piece, and as the most recent winner of this race, it is no surprise that this horse is amongst the contenders this time around.

This year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup was the first time that he had taken to a racetrack for a competitive race since taking part in the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November 2023. This race saw him finish in third, with only Bravemansgame and Royale Pagaille finishing ahead of him. It was an impressive performance from Corach Rambler in the 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup, where he managed a very respectable 3rd place finish behind Gerri Colombe and Galopin Des Champs. He now looks to defend his crown in the Grand National Steeplechase.

Noble Yeats

The final horse amongst the favourites to win the Grand National to be discussed here is Noble Yeats. Back in 2022’s Grand National race, Noble Yeats made some history as the first seven year old horse to emerge victorious in this particular race since Bogskar did so back in 1940.

Noble Yeats was able to put in a great performance at Limerick in the Party Time Hurdle on 27th December 2023, coming in second place behind a Willie Mullins trained Sa Majeste in first place. This was then followed up by an impressive victory in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham in January 2024, finishing ahead of the likes of Paisley Park and Strong Leader in second and third place, respectively.

Additionally, the 2024 Paddy Power Stayer’s Hurdle at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival saw Noble Yeats put in another good performance – despite ending the race in seventh, there was not much to separate him and the leading horses in the field in the end.

Excitement and anticipation is building rapidly ahead of the 2024 Grand National, which is set to get underway for three days of enthralling racing from Thursday 11th April 2024.

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