Elliott’s tilt at National with 26 horses!

GORDON ELLIOTT’S mission to win another Grand National was underlined yesterday when he entered a staggering 26 horses for the world’s greatest steeplechase. Entries closed yesterday and they showed the dominance of Irish stables, with 61 of the 94 contenders coming from Ireland. Aside from Elliott’s colossal representation, Willie Mullins has put forward 13.

Irish entries are up on last year, when they numbered 54.

It was confirmed yesterday that this year’s Grand National would go off at the earlier time of 4pm on Saturday, April 13. In recent years, runners had come under orders at 5.15pm.

As well as cutting the number of runners from 40 to 34, Aintree and Jockey Club officials felt it was necessary to run earlier to prevent the possibility of the ground drying out too much if the day was hot. There is a possibility that Elliott — who saddled the popular Tiger Roll to win the 2018 and 2019 Nationals, as well as plotting Silver Birch’s successful campaign in 2007 — could end up running half the field. He came in for criticism earlier in the season when he saddled 14 runners in the Troytown Chase, a historic handicap run at Navan, but Elliott insists the criticism is without substance and he has a duty to his owners. ‘You have to keep all bases covered and that is what I am paid to do,’ he said on The Nick Luck Daily Podcast. ‘We’ve got a lot of different owners and it’s the greatest race in the world. Everyone wants to win it. If the horse is qualified, we are entitled to run them.’

AN ex-police officer arrested following a Mail Sport investigation has been charged with defrauding thousands of members of a racing syndicate.

Mike Stanley, 67, faces five counts of fraud in connection with the Layezy Racing group, which he set up in 2010.