Cheltenham Festival Winners Among Grand National Field

This year’s Grand National at Aintree Racecourse is expected to be one of the most competitive renewals of the steeplechase, with a strong list of entries from the UK and Ireland.

Some of those with entries were successful at the Cheltenham Festival this season. Here is a look at their chances of completing an impressive double at Aintree.

Corach Rambler

2023 Ultima Handicap Chase winner Corach Rambler is the +700 favorite in the Grand National betting odds for this year’s marathon contest. He showcased his strong stamina in the handicap race at Cheltenham, as he powered up the hill to prevail by a small margin.

Corach Rambler's done it again! pic.twitter.com/JZ5quU3iph

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) March 14, 2023

Trained by Lucinda Russell in Scotland, the nine-year-old is thought to be off a nice racing weight at Aintree. The handicapper has handed him 10st 5lb for his debut in the race. His mark is set to go up following his Cheltenham success, but it won’t impact his allocation for the Grand National.

Russell knows all about victory in the world’s most famous steeplechase. She became the fourth female trainer to prevail when One For Arthur landed the top prize in 2017. She will be hoping her latest chaser can give her a second victory in the valuable contest.

Gaillard Du Mesnil

The National Hunt Challenge Cup at Cheltenham is a race that many Grand National runners feature in before heading to Aintree. The race was won this year by Gaillard Du Mesnil, a second-season chaser who is trained in Ireland by Willie Mullins.

Stamina is unlikely to be a problem for the seven-year-old as he stayed on strongly at the back end of the 3m6f contest at the Festival. He also has shown he has the class, as he won the Grade One Neville Hotels Novice Chase by seven lengths at Leopardstown earlier in the campaign.

Mullins had a fantastic Cheltenham this year, with seven winners at the meeting. The Irish Champion Trainer last won the Grand National 18 years ago when Hedgehunter came out on top for him. Gaillard Du Mesnil has a similar profile to his previous winner, so he can be optimistic about a big run.

Delta Work

In what was a fantastic opening appearance in the race in 2022, Delta Work finished third in the Grand National last season behind Noble Yeats and Any Second Now respectively. He did so with 11st 9lb on his back. The handicapper has eased him 5lb this year as he has an allocation of 11st 4lb.

It's a REPEAT! 🙌😍

DELTA WORK was made to battle just like last year with Tiger Roll, but this year Galvin couldn't get past either in the @Glenfarclas Chase #CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/qioohllNSl

— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 15, 2023

Gordon Elliott’s runner prevailed at the Cheltenham Festival for the second straight year in 2023 as he defended his crown in the Cross Country Chase. In 2022, he denied Aintree hero Tiger Roll a victory on the final outing of his career. This season he was involved in a close tussle with Galvin at the end of the 3m6f race.

The experience around the Grand National Course last year should stand Delta Work in good stead as he bids to go two places better on his second appearance there.

The 2023 Grand National is set to take place on April 15 at 17:20 local time in the UK.