The final field of 34 runners is now known for the 2024 Grand National, and this year’s renewal of the race looks set to be one of the strongest for a while. It includes two former champions and multiple Grade One winners.
Here is a look at the leading contenders to land the top prize of £500,000 in the feature race of the 2024 Grand National Meeting in Liverpool.
Corach Rambler and Derek Fox power up the hill to land the Ultima Handicap Chase! @lucindavrussell
Follow our Cheltenham Festival live blog here: https://t.co/C3nXv4OgWF pic.twitter.com/5Jo3Fb6OkC
— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) March 15, 2022
Two-time Cheltenham Festival winner Corach Rambler relished the 4m2f distance in the race in 2023, scoring by 2½ lengths ahead of Vanillier. He is the 5/1 favourite in the Grand National betting to prevail again.
Lucinda Russell’s top-class chaser is one of the most popular Grand National tips for the race due to his course and distance form. He will carry 14lb more weight on his back this time, but after a third-place finish in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, his preparation for this race could not have gone much better.
Derek Fox, a two-time winner of the Grand National, will partner Corach Rambler again. He has a lot of experience over the bigger fences at Aintree.
Grade One winning chaser I Am Maximus won the Irish equivalent of the Grand National at Fairyhouse last April, so he has shown he has the stamina for marathon races. He represents one of the strongest stables in Ireland.
With a mark of 164, the eight-year-old is one of the highest-rated horses in this year’s field. He has been chosen by Willie Mullins’ number one jockey Paul Townend who had the pick of the horses from the Closutton Stable.
The three-time chaser winner is one of 26 Irish-trained horses in the field. An Irish horse has won four of the last five renewals of the race, and they will have a strong chance of improving that record this year.
Gavin Cromwell’s runner Vanillier was the runner-up in the 2023 Grand National. The grey horse came home strongly to get within just over two lengths of Corach Rambler. His connections will be hoping he can reverse that form and go one place better this year.
On his final start before his trip to Liverpool, Vanillier finished second behind I Am Maximus in the Bobbyjo Chase, a race that is often used as a trial before the Grand National. He is considered a leading player once again this year.
It’s @CWilliamsRacing again as Kitty’s Light wins the Scottish Grand National! pic.twitter.com/YLxoGLbEOs
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) April 22, 2023
Welshman Christian Williams is one of the most likeable trainers in the sport, so if Kitty’s Light was to come out on top in this year’s race, it would be a popular result. Last season’s Scottish Grand National winner is at the bottom of the weights with an allocation of 10st 7lb.
Williams’ chaser won two lucrative staying handicap chases last season. His form has not quite been as good in the latest campaign, but he did run well at the Cheltenham Festival on his latest appearance when finishing seventh in the Ultima Handicap Chase.
Enjoy this year’s renewal of the world’s most famous steeplechase. Hopefully, it will produce another memorable running on the unique contest.
Subscribe today and receive latest Livery List news and guides direct to your inbox