Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is bidding to land the Grand National for the first time next month with Give Me A Copper, a horse he part-owns.
Ferguson, who is a huge horse racing fan, has a good chance of winning the world’s most famous steeplechase as his runner is 25/1 with the bookmakers to come out on top in Liverpool at Aintree racecourse.
The 4m2½f contest is the true test of stamina and jumping, and Ferguson’s chaser has proved he is a worthy candidate. He was successful in the Badger Beers Silver Trophy at Wincanton earlier this season. That is a Listed race over 3m1f, and he stayed on strongly at the end of that contest.
Trained by Paul Nicholls, who won the Grand National in 2012 with Neptune Collonges at odds of 33/1, the horse has been campaigned with this race as his target at the end of the season.
The handicapper has assigned the 10-year-old 10st-1lb, and at the moment he is just outside the 40 runners which are guaranteed a place in the field. As his odds suggest though, he is fancied to make the final confirmed list of horses which will line up on the 4th April.
It will be Give Me A Copper’s first attempt at the Grand National fences at Aintree. Stamina is not expected to be an issue as he was competitive at Sandown last April in a Grade Three contest over 3m5f.
Tiger Roll The One To Beat According To Bookmakers
The bookmakers make Tiger Roll the one Give Me A Copper and the rest of the field have to beat this year. He tops the betting at 5/1, just slightly bigger than when he won the race for a second time in 2019.
This season has not been without its problems for the dual-Grand National winner. He was unable to appear on the track until February when he finished fifth of nine horses at Navan in the Boyne Hurdle. He went off at 9/1 in that race, which was used to shake off the cobwebs, more than anything else.
A second run is expected in the Cross Country Chase where he is evens in the Cheltenham 2020 betting. That race at the Festival will be his last run before he appears at Aintree, bidding for a record-equalling third Grand National success.
The Irish horse has top weight of 11st-10lb in the 2020 renewal of the famous steeplechase. That is 2lb more than any other runner in the field. It is also 5lb more than he had on his back when he defended his crown last April.
If he is able to justify favouritism next month, Tiger Roll will add to what has been an extremely impressive career on the track. The 10-year-old has also won two Cross Country Chases, a Triumph Hurdle and the National Hunt Challenge Cup.
An unprecedented third straight Grand National will help Tiger Roll cement his place as one of the greatest National Hunt horses, not just of his generation, but of any in the history of the sport.
