The Aintree Festival is almost upon us, with the Grand National at the forefront of the minds of trainers, jockeys and punters all over the world.
Wading through current listings of entrants in the Grand National can be tricky and tedious, so here are the 40 runners at the top of the weights who are in pole position to start the 2017 Grand National.
Number, name, age, weight, trainer.
1) CARLINGFORD LOUGH 11 11-10 John Kiely (IRE)
2) THE LAST SAMURI 9 11-09 Kim Bailey
3) ALELCHI INOIS 9 11-07 Willie Mullins (IRE)
4) MORE OF THAT 9 11-05 Jonjo O’Neill (IRE)
5) SHANTOU FLYER 7 11-04 Rebecca Curtis
6) PERFECT CANDIDATE 10 11-04 Fergal O’Brien
7) SAPHIR DU RHEU 8 11-04 Paul Nicholls
8) ROI DES FRANCS 8 11-02 Gordon Elliott (IRE)
9) FOXROCK 9 11-02 Ted Walsh (IRE)
10) WOUNDED WARRIOR 8 11-01 Noel Meade (IRE)
11) WONDERFUL CHARM 9 11-01 Paul Nicholls
12) TENOR NIVERNAIS 10 11-00 Venetia Williams
13) BLACKLION 8 11-00 Nigel Twiston-Davies
14) DROP OUT JOE 9 11-00 Charlie Longsdon
15) LE MERCUREY 7 10-13 Paul Nicholls
16) MAGGIO 12 10-12 Patrick Griffin (IRE)
17) THE YOUNG MASTER 8 10-12 Neil Mulholland
18) CAUSE OF CAUSES 9 10-12 Gordon Elliott (IRE)
19) REGAL ENCORE 9 10-12 Anthony Honeyball
20) VIEUX LION ROUGE 8 10-11 David Pipe
21) DEFINITLY RED 8 10-11 Brian Ellison
22) UCELLO CONTI 9 10-11 Gordon Elliott (IRE)
23) DOUBLE SHUFFLE 7 10-11 Tom George
24) HOUBLON DES OBEAUX 10 10-11 Venetia Williams
25) PLEASANT COMPANY 9 10-11 Willie Mullins (IRE)
26) ONE FOR ARTHUR 8 10-10 Lucinda Russell
27) BALLYNAGOUR 11 10-10 David Pipe
28) O’FAOLAINS BOY 10 10-10 Rebecca Curtis
29) HIGHLAND LODGE 11 10-10 James Moffatt
30) BISHOPS ROAD 9 10-09 Kerry Lee
31) VICS CANVAS 14 10-09 Dermot McLoughlin (IRE)
32) LORD WINDERMERE 11 10-09 Jim Culloty (IRE)
33) ZIGA BOY 8 10-09 Alan King
34) SAINT ARE 11 10-09 Tom George
35) VICENTE 8 10-09 Paul Nicholls
36) JUST A PAR 10 10-08 Paul Nicholls
37) MEASUREOFMYDREAMS 9 10-08 Noel Meade (IRE)
38) RAZ DE MAREE 12 10-08 Gavin Cromwell (IRE)
39) STELLAR NOTION 9 10-08 Henry de Bromhead (IRE)
40) PENDRA 9 10-07 Charlie Longsdon
Only 40 horses will be allowed to run in the Grand National, but with some of the above entrants set for a run in the Irish Grand National and the possibility of injuries and ground-dependent withdrawal, these ten reserves have a good chance of lining up at the Aintree Festival.
R1) ROGUE ANGEL 9 10-07 Mouse Morris (IRE)
R2) COCKTAILS AT DAWN 9 10-07 Nicky Henderson
R3) THE ROMFORD PELE 10 10-06 Rebecca Curtis
R4) THUNDER AND ROSES 9 10-06 Mouse Morris (IRE)
R5) GAS LINE BOY 11 10-06 Ian Williams
R6) GOODTOKNOW 9 10-06 Kerry Lee
R7) LA VATICANE 8 10-05 David Pipe
R8) DOCTOR HARPER 9 10-05 David Pipe
R9) BLESS THE WINGS 12 10-04 Gordon Elliott (IRE)
