Warwickshire-based trainer Tom Ellis will have his first runner in the Grand National at Aintree this year. He picked up his licence in the sport in late March, just in time for the showpiece event in April.
Ellis will saddle Latenightpass in the world’s most famous steeplechase. The horse switched back to his yard from Dan Skelton earlier this year. The trainers are close friends, so the horse arrived back at Ellis’ stable with best wishes from the British Trainers’ Championship leader.
Latenightpass Has Excellent Form Over National Fences
The experienced 11-year-old chaser will be having his fourth appearance over the bigger fences at Aintree. He is 25/1 in the Grand National betting in 2024. Victory in that race will be the biggest in his career.
Ellis’ runner is one of the leading Grand National betting tips this year due to his record at the course. He won the Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase at the Grand National Meeting in 2022, while 12 months earlier he was the runner-up in the 2m5f contest over the bigger fences at Aintree.
Latenightpass wins the Randox Foxhunters' Open Hunters' Chase#ITVRacing | #GrandNational pic.twitter.com/2ua3BTi9KN
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) April 7, 2022
Latenightpass ran an excellent race in his bid to defend his Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase title in 2023, but he had to settle for fourth place as Famous Clermont landed the top prize at the Merseyside racecourse.
Under the hands of Skelton, the staying chaser has featured three times this season. He won a Cross Country Chase at Cheltenham back in December, while on his latest outing, he was fifth in the Grade Two Prestige Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock.
Gina Andrews To Ride Aintree Contender
Ellis’ partner Gina Andrews has ridden Latenightpass in each of his appearances over the last three seasons. She is set to keep the ride in the Grand National at Aintree. If victorious, she will become only the second female rider to win the race.
Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore made history in 2021 when she was successful in the race on board Minella Times. Before her success, Katie Walsh, Nina Carberry, Carrie Ford and Bryony Frost had all gone close.
Andrews has built a great relationship with Latenightpass, and she will be hoping he can help her add her name to the history books in the world’s most famous steeplechase this year.
Corach Rambler The One to Beat
Latenightpass and the other 32 runners in this year’s Grand National will need to beat the defending champion Corach Rambler. The 2023 winner goes into the race on the back of an excellent performance in the 2024 Cheltenham Gold Cup where he came home third behind Galopin Des Champs and Gerri Colombe respectively.
CORACH RAMBLER WINS THE 2023 GRAND NATIONAL 🏇 pic.twitter.com/IXDzrs9BK4
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) April 15, 2023
Corach Rambler has 11lb higher weight on his back this year as he bids to replicate what Tiger Roll achieved in 2019 by winning back-to-back renewals of the Aintree contest. His trainer Lucinda Russell is vying for a third success, as she also won the race in 2017 with One For Arthur.
The Scottish-based horse is one of two former winners in this year’s field. It also includes Noble Yeats who prevailed in 2022 for Irish trainer Emmet Mullins. No horse has regained their crown in the Grand National since Red Rum in 1977.
The 2024 Grand National takes place on Saturday, 13th of April at 16:00.
