National Hunt trainer Lucinda Russell is looking to provide Scotland with another major victory in the Grand National this year. The Scottish woman is set to saddle Corach Rambler in the world’s most famous steeplechase at Aintree.
With over 800 winners in her career, Russell is one of the most successful Scottish trainers in history. She has had successes at the biggest jumps meetings on the calendar, including the Cheltenham Festival and Aintree.
Corach Rambler Tops Betting For Grand National
As you can see from the horse racing card for the 2023 Grand National, Russell has just one entry in this year’s lucrative race, but it may be all she needs, as Corach Rambler is the 7/1 favourite. He has shown some excellent form this season, which leaves his connections very excited about his Aintree prospects.
Corach Rambler goes into the Grand National Meeting on the back of victory in the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. That is one of the premier handicap contests in the 3m+ division and the Scottish-trained horse showed his liking for the stamina test. He came home better than any of his rivals to prevail by a neck.
The nine-year-old chaser has been handed 10st 5lb for the race in Liverpool, which is one of the lowest allocations of the 40 runners in the field. His victory at Cheltenham does not impact that weight, so he will not be penalised for landing the day one contest at the Festival.
One For Arthur Provided Russell with Her Best Day in The Sport So Far
The 2017 Grand National is a race Russell will never forget. It is the highlight of her career so far as One For Arthur gave her an opening success in the marathon contest on Merseyside. Ridden by stable jockey Derek Fox, the pair prevailed by just over fourth lengths.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>One For Arthur stayed on to give Scotland only its second winner in the Randox Health Grand National at Aintree: <a href=”https://t.co/fmkEOHte07″>https://t.co/fmkEOHte07</a> <a href=”https://t.co/eYWonymXeY”>pic.twitter.com/eYWonymXeY</a></p>— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) <a href=”https://twitter.com/SkySportsRacing/status/850764548638466050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 8, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
It was a proud moment for Russell as she ensured a Scottish-trained horse won the race for only the second time. Rubstic was the first to do so in 1979 for trainer John Leadbetter and 38 years later, the Arlary House trainer joined him on the roll of honour for Scotland.
Russell is supported in her stable by her partner Peter Scudamore, a man who also has a rich history in the Grand National. His father Michael rode Oxo to victory in the race in 1959. He has been a key member of Russell’s success in her Scottish-based operation.
Although she did not need success in the race to be regarded as one of the best female trainers of all time, the victory did help Russell become just the fourth woman to win the race as a trainer. Jenny Pitman was the first to do so in 1983. She recorded a second win in 1995. Venetia Williams was successful in 2009, while in 2013, Sue Smith became a Grand National winner.
Corach Rambler has been compared to One For Arthur many times this season. If he prevails at Aintree in the 175th running of the Grand National, he will match what his former stablemate achieved in his career.
