By Samuel Meade
The eyes of the nation will be on Aintree come Saturday when the Grand National gets underway.
Last year Corach Rambler justified his favourites tag to claim victory for Lucinda Russell and is, once again, leading the betting. He is bidding to join the likes of Red Rum and Tiger Roll as a back-to-back Grand National winner.
Corach Rambler has plenty of opposition though, with a host of horses potentially challenging his place in the market come 4pm on Saturday. The Grand National has been bought forward from its usual time, meaning there is less time to pick a potential winner.
Over the past decade, two favourites have won as has a 50/1 shot and a 33/1 shot. And Mirror Sport has come up with a tool that can help punters select their potential winner - depending on what they value.
Readers can use sliders to decide which statistics they feel are most important for picking a winner - be that form, the jockey, their age, weight and odds. The gadget then finds a horse that best matches their selections.
Derek Fox will ride the favourite as he eyes a slice of history and believes Corach Rambler is deserving of his price heading into the Aintree classic.
He said: "It's very exciting to be going into it with a horse that's 5/1 favourite. I think he's very deserving of the price and he's had great preparation. Although he hasn't won a race this year, he's been aiming very high. His last two runs were in grade one races, and his preparation has gone really well.
"Just watching him riding out in the mornings and stuff, I rode him in a few bits of work myself, and he feels great. I couldn't expect his preparation to go any better, which is a rare thing to say but to this point, he hasn't had a single hold-up. That's a big plus I think for any horse."
Corach Rambler attempted to add the Gold Cup to his CV last month at Cheltenham, eventually coming home in third. Fox believes that his performance in Gloucestershire is further proof that the horse is at the top of his game.
"I wouldn't say it's raised my hopes. It just reassures that he's at his best and he's run to his best. That he hasn't shown any sign of regression in his ability or enthusiasm for racing. Obviously, a Grand National can leave its mark on a lot of horses. On the other hand, Tiger Roll has done it twice in recent years and I think the Gold Cup this year gives you confidence to think that he's at his best and still enjoying the racing."
