Aintree hero Noble Yeats heads the 85 initial entries for the 2023 Randox Grand National at Aintree Racecourse this spring.
Emmet Mullins' eight-year-old remains on course for a crack at both the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup at next month's Cheltenham Festival before a return to Aintree to defend his crown on April 15
Noble Yeats famously won the National under amateur Sam Waley-Cohen on his final ride as a jockey back in April, to become the first seven-year-old since Bogskar in 1940 to land the world's greatest steeplechase. And he was among the entries as he bids to become the 10th dual winner of the Aintree marathon and emulate the two most recent back-to-back scorers Tiger Roll (2018 and 2019) and legendary triple hero Red Rum (1973 and 1974).
Noble Yeats put a lacklustre return in France behind him to win at Naas and then score again back at Aintree in the Grade Two Many Clouds Chase in December before finishing third to Ahoy Senor in the Grade Two Paddy Power Cotswold Chase last month. The Robert Waley-Cohen-trained eight-year-old is set to line up in Grade One company in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on March where he will be ridden by his new regular partner Sean Bowen. Then he is likely to return to Aintree to try and win again. Only five-time Gold Cup hero Golden Miller has won both of National Hunt's flagship events in the same season, back in 1934. Noble Yeats is currently William Hill and BetVictor's 12-1 favourite for the Grand National.
Noble Yeats is among five of the first six home from last year's renewal entered for a return to Aintree in the spring. Ted Walsh's Any Second Now – who has third and runner-up for the past two years, the Gordon Elliott-trained Delta Work (third), Fiddlerontheroof (fifth), from the Joe Tizzard stable, and Martin Brassil's Longhouse Poet (sixth) all feature among the entries. Any Second Now is a best-priced 20-1 with Coral to make it third time lucky at Aintree, while Delta Work and Longhouse Poet are both 25-1 chances with Skybet.
This year's Grand National entries are down by 22 from the 107 who were initially engaged at this stage last year. Although the number of Irish contenders is up by one to 54 as trainers from the Emerald Isle look to continue their recent near stranglehold of the world's greatest steeplechase. Five of the last six winners have been trained in Ireland and for a second year running in 2022, five of the first six horses home were Irish.
Another Irish-trained entry is Hewick, who won the American Grand National at Far Hills, New Jersey, in October. Hewick is heading for a crack at the Gold Cup first as his trainer John “Shark” Hanlon outlined at a media event organised by The Jockey Club at his County Carlow yard.
Hanlon said: “The key thing for Hewick is good ground. If we ended up in Cheltenham and the ground ended up getting soft, I’d definitely have to think about it because Aintree is only down the road. But we’ll see. I never saw the ground soft at Cheltenham on a Friday, the last 15 years I’d say we had good ground, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
“He’ll stay and he’ll jump. And for a Gold Cup or a National, you want both of them. He has a bit of toe and he stays. If I finished in the first four in a Gold Cup I’d be delighted. To go to America that time with him was amazing. To go to the Eclipse Awards and win Steeplechase Horse of The Year in America, we were so happy. The story is brilliant. He only came from five minutes down the road and at £800, he was some value. He’s just probably an improving horse that needed a lot of time and we gave him that.”
Battleship is the only horse in history to win both the American and Aintree Grand Nationals. He won the American version in 1934 before triumphing at Aintree four years later under 17-year-old jockey Bruce Hobbs.
Hanlon also has Cape Gentleman entered in this year's Grand National. He won in Graded company over both hurdles and fences when trained by Emmet Mullins. The seven-year-old is owned by Pierre Manigault, whose great-grandfather, Stephen Sanford owned the 1923 Aintree hero Sergeant Murphy.
Among other Irish contenders Emmet Mullins' uncle Willie Mullins has eight entries this time. The County Carlow handlers won the Grand National with Hedgehunter in 2005 and has saddled two runners-up in recent years with Pleasant Company and Rathvinden behind Tiger Roll in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The Irish champion trainer's octet this time are headed by Capodanno and Gaillard Du Mesnil, who are both Grade One-winning novices.
Mullins' great rival in Ireland and triple Grand National-winning trainer Gordon Elliott has almost a quarter of the entries this time with 21 overall. The Cullentra House team is headed by last year's third and a winner at last year's Cheltenham Festival Delta Work. Elliott could also run two others who featured in last year's National in Coko Beach and Escaria Ten, who finished eighth and ninth in 2022 respectively. Other entries for Elliott include Galvin and Conflated – the last two winners of the Grade One Savills Chase at Leopardstown and Fury Road, who was third to Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs in last Saturday's Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup. Nine of Elliott's 21 entries are owned by Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown House Stud – who has won the race three times with Rule The World in 2016 and dual hero Tiger Roll.
Henry De Bromhead's Minella Times, who helped Rachael Blackmore become the first female jockey to win the Aintree marathon in 2021, is again entered and is one of eight horses owned by dual Grand National-winning owner JP McManus.
Two of the leading British-trained runners come from the Dan Skelton stable in Le Milos, who won the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in November, and Ashtown Lad, who showed his liking for the Grand National fences when winning the Boylesports Becher Chase at Aintree the following month. Le Milos is a 25-1 chance with Coral, Paddy Power and Betfair and Ashtown Lad is a best-priced 33-1 with bet365 and Skybet.
Other home challengers among the entries are Remastered, from the David Pipe stable who won the Grand National with Comply Or Die in 2008; the Lucinda Russell-trained Corach Rambler and Donald McCain's Minella Trump. Merseyside-born McCain won the Grand National with Ballabriggs in 2011 and could have a runner in the race this time 50 years on from when his father and four-time Grand National winner Ginger McCain and his Red Rum won the Aintree showpiece for the first time in 1973.
There are also some Merseyside-owned horses entered. The Richard Hobson-trained Riders Onthe Storm is owned Southport-born Carl Hinchy and Mark Scott, from Aigburth. While former Adelphi Hotel bell boy Jim Beaumont, who co-owned Sue Smith's 2013 winner Auroras Encore, has the Patrick Griffin-trained Roi Mage entered this time.
The weights will be revealed for the Grand National at St George’s Hall in Liverpool on Tuesday, February 21. The Grand National is the only race of the year where the British Horseracing Authority’s senior Jump handicapper, Martin Greenwood, is able to deviate from official ratings when he frames the handicap.
85 Grand National entries for Aintree 2023:
Entries for the Randox Grand National Handicap Chase (Class 1), (4m2f74y) at Aintree Racecourse on Saturday, April 15 2023 (5.15pm).
No, Name, Age, Trainer, Owner
1 Ain't That A Shame 9 Henry De Bromhead (IRE), Robcour
2 Any Second Now 11 Ted Walsh (IRE), JP McManus
3 Ashtown Lad 9 Dan Skelton, Darren & Annaley Yates
4 Ash Tree Meadow 7 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Alymer Stud
5 A Wave Of The Sea 7 Joseph Patrick O'Brien (IRE), JP McManus
6 Back On The Lash 9 Martin Keighley, Maughan, Redknapp, Ryan, Salters
7 Battleoverdoyen 10 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Pioneer Racing
8 Born By The Sea 9 Paul John Gilligan (IRE), Natalie Gilligan
9 Burrows Saint 10 Willie Mullin (IRE), Mrs Susannah Ricci
10 Cape Gentleman 7 John Joseph Hanlon (IRE), Pierre Manigault
11 Capodanno 7 Willie Mullins (IRE), JP McManus
12 Captain Cattistock 10 Fergal O'Brien, Nic Brereton
13 Captain Kangaroo 8 Willie Mullins (IRE), Kanga Racing & Brett Graham Syndicate
14 Carefully Selected 11 Willie Mullins (IRE), Miss M A Masterson
15 Chemical Energy 7 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Caldwell Construction Ltd
16 Chris's Dream 11 Henry De Bromhead (IRE), Robcour
17 Cilaos Emery 11 Sophie Leech, The Has Been's
18 Cloudy Glen 10 Venetia Williams, Exors of the late Trevor Hemmings
19 Coko Beach 8 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Gigginstown House Stud
20 Conflated 9 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Gigginstown House Stud
21 Corach Rambler 9 Lucinda Russell, The Ramblers
22 Darasso 10 Joseph Patrick O'Brien (IRE), JP McManus
23 Darrens Hope 9 Robert Murphy (IRE), Robert Murphy
24 Death Duty 12 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Gigginstown House Stud
25 Defi Bleu 10 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Gigginstown House Stud
26 Delta Work 10 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Gigginstown House Stud
27 Diol Ker 9 Noel Meade (IRE), Gigginstown House Stud
28 Dunboyne 8 Gordon Elliott (IRE), SP O'Connor
29 Enjoy D'allen 9 Ciaran Murphy (IRE), JP McManus
30 Envoi Allen 9 Henry De Bromhead (IRE), Cheveley Park Stud
31 Escaria Ten 9 Gordon Elliott (IRE), McNeill Family
32 Eva's Oskar 9 Tim Vaughan, Sally & Richard Price
33 Fakiera 8 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Tim O'Driscoll
34 Fantastikas 8 Nigel Twiston-Davies, Imperial Racing Partnership 2016
35 Farclas 9 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Gigginstown House Stud
36 Fiddlerontheroof 9 Joe Tizzard, Taylor, Burley & O'Dwyer
37 Fortescue 9 Henry Daly, Mrs L Nixon
38 Francky Du Berlais 10 Peter Bowen, Roddy Owen
39 Franco De Port 8 Willie Mullins (IRE), Bruton Street V
40 Frontal Assault 8 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Gigginstown House Stud
41 Fury Road 9 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Gigginstown House Stud
42 Gabbys Cross 8 Henry De Bromhead (IRE), RS Brookhouse
43 Gaillard Du Mesnil 7 Willie Mullins (IRE), Mrs J Donnelly
44 Ga Law 7 Jamie Snowden, The Footie Partnership
45 Galvin 9 Gordon Elliott (IRE), RA Bartlett
46 Gevrey 7 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Denis Gallagher Racing
47 Gin On Lime 7 Henry De Bromhead (IRE), Robcour
48 Glamorgan Duke 10 Paul John Gilligan (IRE), Natalie Gilligan
49 Grumpy Charley 8 Chris Honour, G Thompson
50 Happygolucky 9 Kim Bailey, Lady Dulverton
51 Hewick 8 John Joseph Hanlon (IRE), TJ McDonald
52 Hill Sixteen 10 Sandy Thomson, J Fyffe & S Townshend
53 Iwilldoit 10 Sam Thomas, Diamond Racing Partnership
54 Le Milos 8 Dan Skelton, The Jolly Good Partnership
55 Lifetime Ambition 8 Mrs John Harrington (IRE), Linda Mulcahy & Mary Wolridge
56 Longhouse Poet 9 Martin Brassil (IRE), Sean & Bernardine Mulryan
57 Lord Lariat 8 Dermot A McLoughlin (IRE), P Blake & Patrick John Casey
58 Milan Native 10 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Gigginstown House Stud
59 Minella Crooner 7 Gordon Elliott (IRE),
60 Minella Times 10 Henry De Bromhead (IRE), JP McManus
61 Minella Trump 9 Donald McCain, TG Leslie
62 Mister Coffey 8 Nicky Henderson, Lady Bamford & Alice Bamford
63 Mortal 11 Gordon Elliott (IRE), A Dunlop
64 Mr Incredible 7 Willie Mullins (IRE), Paul Byrne
65 Nearly Perfect 9 Neil King, Peter Beadles
66 Noble Yeats 8 Emmet Mullins (IRE), Robert Waley-Cohen
67 Our Power 8 Sam Thomas, Walters Plant Hire & Potter Group
68 Pencilfulloflead 9 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Robcour
69 Punitive 9 Gordon Elliott (IRE), Pioneer Racing
70 Quick Wave 10 Venetia Williams, Mrs Sharon Kinsella
71 Rapper 9 Henry Daly, The Home Farm Partnership
72 Recite A Prayer 8 Willie Mullins (IRE), The Turner Family
73 Remastered 10 David Pipe, Brocade Racing
74 Riders Onthe Storm 10 Richard Hobson, Carl Hinchy and Mark Scott
75 Roi Mage 11 Patrick Griffin, Douglas G Pryde & DP Van Der Hoeven & G McGladery & Jim Beaumont
76 Royale Pagaille 9 Venetia Williams, Mrs Susannah Ricci
77 Sam Brown 11 Anthony Honeyball, TC Frost
78 Secret Reprieve 9 Evan Williams, Mr & Mrs William Rucker
79 Sporting John 8 Philip Hobbs, JP McManus
80 The Big Breakaway 8 Joe Tizzard, Eric Jones, Geoff Nicholas, John Romans
81 The Big Dog 10 Peter Fahey (IRE), Damien J Kelly & Colin Kelly
82 The Shunter 10 Emmet Mullins, JP McManus
83 Threeunderthrufive 8 Paul Nicholls, McNeill Family
84 Vanillier 8 Gavin Cromwell (IRE), Mrs H Keaveney
85 Velvet Elvis 7 Thomas Gibney (IRE), Derek Kierans
85 entries (54 Irish-trained)
