Grand National entries announced to begin big race countdown

Tuesday saw 85 horses declared as potential Grand National runners for this year’s race, with many of the top performers from last April included on the entry list.

Noble Yeats and Any Second Now, the winner and runner-up in 2022, are joined by Delta Work, Fiddlerontheroof and Longhouse Poet, who came home in third, fifth and sixth places respectively.

It might still be two months before this year’s race comes round, but the longlist announcement marks the start of the countdown. In terms of exactly what time is the 2023 Grand National, the race will remain in its relatively new 5.15pm time slot, and will be run on Saturday 15th April.

Before then, we have the Grand National Trial to look out for at Haydock on Saturday 18th February. The fact it comes just a couple of days before the Grand National weights announcement has made some trainers wary of entering, for fear of landing their prospects a penalty for the Aintree showpiece. As of now, Corach Rambler, Quick Wave and Fiddlerontheroof are among those set to run.

Next on the agenda will be the aforementioned weights announcement, before attention turns firmly to the Cheltenham Festival. As ever, a sprinkling of National contenders are expected to turn out in the Cross Country Chase, with the unique race and range of fences providing an excellent warm-up for Aintree. Last year’s winner Delta Work is the ante-post favourite, with Galvin and 2021 National winner Minella Times also featuring prominently in the betting.

Somewhat unusually, the Gold Cup is also set to feature at least a couple of this year’s Grand National runners. American Grand National winner Hewick is expected to run at both Cheltenham and Aintree, while Noble Yeats will attempt to join an elite list of horses to win the Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup in a 12 month period.