Russell happy with Corach Rambler after National disappointment
LUCINDA RUSSELL’S Corach Rambler is none the worse after his Randox Grand National title defence ended at the first fence.
The 10- year- old won the race for owners The Ramblers last season, prevailing by two- and- a- quarter lengths to give the Kinross trainer her second success after One For Arthur in 2017.
This season Corach Rambler aimed to emulate great horses such as Red Rum and Tiger Roll in returning to Aintree to retain his title, but first he was a contender at the top level in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. There he ran an admirable race when finishing third behind Galopin Des Champs, a run that made his handicap allocation for the Grand National look generous.
As such he was well- backed on his return to Liverpool and started at 15- 2 under Derek Fox having been the favourite for much of the antepost phase.
However, his race ended only moments after it began, with Corach Rambler stumbling on landing after the first fence and unseating Fox.
He then ran loose to the next fence and fell when meeting the ground on the other side, though connections were spared the ordeal of seeing him run riderless for the rest of the race as he was corralled ahead of the third fence and caught.
Russell reported him to be unscathed following the experience and will now call it a day for the season and allow him to enjoy a summer break.
“He’s had a good sleep in his stable and is perfect,” she said.
“We’re very pleased and relieved to have him home in one piece and he’ll now go on a nice holiday and then we’ll decide what happens next.
“He just seemed to stumble and it’s one of the those things, but luck was on our side still as he’s absolutely fine. He went into one of the corrals, it’s very good how they work, he was caught quite quickly and that was a relief.”
Meanwhile, trainer Nicky Henderson was thrilled to see his former pupil I Am Maximus saunter his way to victory.
Henderson, who is still to train a National winner, housed I Am Maximus at his Lambourn base before switching to Willie Mullins in Ireland.
The future National hero won both a Cheltenham bumper and a Newbury novice hurdle while in the care of Henderson.
“I’ve let one slip through the net,” quipped Henderson. “It’s ironic, you spend 45 years trying to win the Grand National and you finally get your mitts on one and we let it get away. He was here and spent his first two seasons here – he was a lovely horse – and he was the one horse I wanted to win yesterday.
“I suppose the only thing I might have done to contribute to his success was probably the way we minded him quite a bit when he was young, because he was big and backwards and raw.
“He was a lovely horse with a great temperament, but he wasn’t really ready for big battles in those days and just needed to be treated with respect – and I think that’s what we did.”
He was owned at the time by Michael Grech, who was to switch all his horses to Ireland in the summer of 2022, with I Am Maximus joining Mullins’ swelling Closutton ranks to embark on a novice chasing campaign which culminated in Irish Grand National success in April 2023.
Grech sold I Am Maximus to JP McManus before that Fairyhouse triumph and sadly did not get to see his former charge’s finest hour at Aintree, having died last September. But Henderson believes the horse’s big- race victory will be a lasting tribute to his good friend.
He said: “I’m thrilled, he belongs to JP, who is one of my biggest supporters here and Willie is a great mate – I told him he needed to go get that horse. I’m genuinely thrilled for them.
“Sadly, he had to move on [ from ourselves]... the horses then had to go over to Ireland and sadly Michael died. All his family were there yesterday, Maxine [ his wife] and his children and it was a sad day for them, but he won in Mike’s memory.”