- Wednesday, April 24, 2024
By: Admin Super
2021 Grand National winner Minella Times has retired, which means he will not feature in this year’s race. The Irish horse was given an entry at Aintree earlier in the season where his connections were hoping their hero could become just the 10th in history to win the race more than once.
Happy Retirement Minella Times 💚💛
pic.twitter.com/b1JzDrYJc4— The Racing Moment (@IzzyPhillips) February 21, 2023
With one of the lowest weight allocations in the handicap in 2021, Minella Times scored by just over two lengths ahead of Balko Des Flos and Any Second Now respectively, to land the world’s most famous steeplechase.
Since then, Henry De Bromhead’s runner has finished just one of his five races. He featured in the Grand National in 2022 but he was brought down at the ninth fence in the contest won by Noble Yeats.
Although it is disappointing news for him, Irish trainer De Bromhead still has five other horses entered in this year’s Grand National, including Gin On Lime. She is set to feature in the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival where she is 20/1 in the Cheltenham day 2 antepost betting. The Irishman will be hoping she can put in a good final run before she heads to Liverpool. It is the same race Tiger Roll won in 2018 and 2019 before his success at Aintree.
Minella Times’ victory in the 2021 Grand National will always be remembered as a piece of history in the race which dates back to 1839. It was the first time a winning horse had been ridden by a female jockey. Rachael Blackmore was the rider, and she stole headlines around the world with her victory.
Blackmore has established herself as one of the best jockeys in Ireland. Before her Grand National win, she had been successful in some of the biggest races in the sport, including the Champion Hurdle, Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and Irish Champion Hurdle. The success at Aintree proved how talented she is, as she gave Minella Times an excellent ride.
At the end of 2021, Blackmore was named the RTE Sports Person of the Year in Ireland, while in the UK, she won the BBC World Sport Star of the Year. Those awards showcased how big of an achievement her Grand National victory was.
Although this year’s Grand National will not include Minella Times, the race will still feature a former winner. Noble Yeats has been entered as he bids to win the race in back-to-back years. Emmet Mullins’ runner has been handed one of the highest weight allocations, as he will carry 11st 11lb on his back this year.
Any Second Now had to settle for second place behind Noble Yeats last season and he will need to carry the highest weight in this year’s contest, as the official handicapper has allocated him 11st 12lb, along with Conflated and Hewick.
Galvin wins the Savills Chase! pic.twitter.com/Lvx2sz7oEJ
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) December 28, 2021
Grade One winners Galvin and Envoi Allen have 11st 11lb and 11st 8lb respectively, while much further down the weights, Burrows Saint and Escaria Saint have run well around the Grand National Course before, and they will feature again with 10st 12lb and 10st 10lb respectively.
This year’s Grand National will be the 175th in history and each of the 40 runners will be hoping to add their name alongside Minella Times on the honours board at Aintree.
