Betfair ambassador Paul Nicholls on winners for Sir Alex Ferguson in Liverpool and the magic of the Randox Grand National.
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Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aintree horses (odds via Betfair)
Protektorat 10/3 - Thurs 14:55 *trained by Dan Skelton
Clan Des Obeaux 7/2 - Thurs 14:55
Monmiral 17/2 - Thurs 15:30
Hitman 9/1 - Fri 3:30
Sir Alex Ferguson loves having winners in Liverpool
It’s well-known he likes beating Liverpool and having winners in Liverpool and he had a fantastic time last year when winning three races at Aintree. This year, he has some good horses with Monmiral, Protektorat, Clan Des Obeaux and Hitman. It looks a bit tougher this year, I’m not sure they’ll win three Grade Ones on the trot, but it’s good to give him plenty of winners and he loves that meeting.
He’s become a good friend and I’ve known him now for about 15 years. He loves it all and is very involved with the good horses. I love having him on board and I love discussing things with him.
I often speak with Sir Alex about what it takes to win titles
We’ve spoken a lot about the fact that what we do is very similar. He was in charge of a squad of players and so am I - the horses. Like him, I could say ‘he’s on the transfer list’, we’re always buying and selling and moving our squad around. There are a lot of comparisons and we have discussed it a lot.
He’s just like me, he doesn’t like getting beaten. And that’s why you work so hard, because you want to win. He was a born winner and he always wants to win. At Manchester United, he always wanted to win the Premier League, but you can’t do it every year and it depends on the team you have – that’s why our jobs are so similar.
Grand National one of the UK’s best sporting events
I think it’s right there if not at the very top. It’s known as the people’s race and you can see why it’s the people’s race, everybody knows all about it and everybody likes to have a bet and watch it. It’s unlike Cheltenham because not everybody knows about Cheltenham whereas everybody knows about the Grand National. It’s a fantastic race and it’s high up on the sporting calendar and I put it right up there with the top sporting events.
I find that there’s more pressure at Cheltenham than at Aintree. I absolutely love Aintree. It’s much more relaxed and a lot of people go and have a big social event, so I find that there’s a lot less pressure. There’s always a huge build-up to Cheltenham and for a lot of people it’s the be-all and end-all, but I love Aintree, the meeting and the whole occasion. So, for me, there’s not as much pressure – obviously, training top horses there’s a certain amount of pressure – but I love Aintree, I’m really relaxed and people outside of racing go there and have a fantastic time.
Nothing is that different because you still prepare the horses like the same for any other race, it’s just the buzz of the whole place is hard to explain, it’s just a fantastic occasion. You don’t do things differently, you just make sure everything is done right.
Neptune Collonges’ victory one of my best memories
My best memory is when the announcer said: ‘and the winner is: number four, Neptune Collonges.’ I will never forget those words. It’s almost like it was yesterday. I really fancied him when he was going out to the second circuit. I said to Daryl, if you’re in the first 10 then you have a chance and he was coming around in 10th or 11th and he was staying on. I could see that he was finding another gear. My first reaction was that he pricked his ear and knew he won, then the cameras went to Jonjo O’Neil, so I thought I got that wrong. It was quite a long wait. Ruby Walsh, who fell in the race and walked back said, ‘you’ve won.’ That made me feel a lot better and then the announcer confirmed it, it was fantastic. That memory of that day when Neptune won was amazing.
We had dinner with the owners and I remember coming back to the village at 3 AM and they were still partying. Everyone had a bet on him. The next day we had a big parade when thousands of people came to see him and I don’t think we stopped celebrating for a week – it was a special occasion.
You need a lot of luck to win the Grand National
You have 40 runners so you do need a lot of luck. I think it’s not so much to do with luck than years ago when it was much more demanding with bigger fences when they used to go a lot slower, but you still need a lot of luck, just like in any big race. You need a class horse that’s tough and jumps.
There’s lots of stats, such as the fact not many greys win it but Neptune Collonges did it, he was tiny and didn’t have too much weight so not a lot of people would have picked him out. Normally, you want a big strong horse that is in form, this year I really fancy Delta Work, who’s in good form, won at Cheltenham and has been around a cross-country course. The fences these days aren’t as big as they used to be and the race isn’t quite the same in terms of the demands on the horses, so it’s much more a four-mile handicap and top-class horses can run in it. You need a bit of class. You do need a certain amount of luck, but you need to pick a horse that stays well and is in form.
