Our Rambler won’t go soft, says Russell

LUCINDA RUSSELL has played down fears that the prospect of heavy ground at Aintree next Saturday would be a disadvantage for Randox Grand National favourite Corach Rambler.

The ground was officially good to soft when Corach Rambler won last year’s race but he did not appear inconvenienced by testing ground when third in last month’s Cheltenham Gold Cup. Currently the Aintree ground is soft (heavy in places) with potentially heavy rain forecast for Monday and Tuesday in an unsettled week.

Russell said: ‘The ideal is good to soft but if it is softer than that so be it. The way that he runs, he races in a very relaxed manner all the time anyway. Whether it is heavy or quick ground it doesn’t matter to him.’

Russell’s partner and assistant Peter Scudamore said jockey Derek Fox is unfazed by the ground reports. He added: ‘Derek is not worried. He says it was heavy ground at Cheltenham and Corach handed it. He has also won on heavy ground at Ayr earlier in his career. What is more important is he seems to be a horse who peaks in the spring.’ Meanwhile, Fox, who also won the Grand National on Russell’s One For Arthur in 2017, has spoken of his relief at escaping a whip-related ban that would have ruled him out of his attempt to win the Grand National for a third time.

Mail Sport revealed that Fox was sweating on the outcome of a decision by the BHA’s Whip Review Committee on a ride at Newcastle last week when he went one over the permitted number of seven strokes of the whip in a jumps race. His actions were also scrutinized for excessive force. Ultimately and unexpectedly the WRC deferred a decision from last Thursday until this Tuesday as it called for extra evidence, meaning any ban would not cover Grand National day. It then handed down a four-day suspension.

Fox said: ‘I had a scare with the whip ban. If it had gone against me it would have been a disaster.

‘When I pulled up after the race I wasn’t worried but then I realised I’d gone one over and there was a scare about them being worried it was excessive force.

‘Luckily when I got the results they’d dropped that part of it and I got four days for going one over. It was a worrying few days.’