In just over a week’s time, chasing’s most iconic prize will be up for grabs at the Randox Health Grand National at Aintree and hopes are high that the winner will again hail from these shores.

One only has to go back to 2016 to find the last Irish-trained winner of the Liverpool spectacular, when Rule The World secured that never-to-be-forgotten triumph for Mouse Morris and this time around there looks to be an especially strong Irish challenge.

Foremost amongst the raiders is Tony Martin’s Anibale Fly who will be looking to build on a career best third to Native River in last month’s Cheltenham Gold Cup. If he can match that form he will most surely play a leading role on Saturday.

However, there are plenty of other credible challengers and one of those is the Willie Mullins-trained Total Recall. He fell at the third last in the Gold Cup, but was running a huge race at the time and this nine-year-old has made giant strides this term as evidenced by his Munster National and Ladbrokes Trophy triumphs.

He too is among the market leaders, and with a clean round of jumping there is every reason to believe that he will be closely involved.

THREE FOR ELLIOTT

In the race that famously launched his training career in 2007, Gordon Elliott will run three horses in his bid to improve on last year’s second with Cause Of Causes. The trainer’s Ucello Conti will be trying his hand in the great race for the third time and he warrants respect, but perhaps Tiger Roll could be Elliott’s best chance.

A recent winner of the cross country chase at Cheltenham, Tiger Roll’s stamina is assured for this test. His jumping is a potential source of concern, but he does look like one who could revel in the unique demands of Aintree.

Elsewhere Gavin Cromwell’s Welsh National scorer Raz De Maree commands respect while the husband and wife team of Ross O’Sullivan and Katie Walsh have a credible challenger in Baie Des Iles.

Her latest third in the National Trial at Punchestown was given a major boost when the first two from that race – Folsom Blue and Isleofhopeandreams – were closely involved in last week’s Irish National.

Lastly, those looking for some value could do worse than siding with the multiple Grade 1 scorer Carlingford Lough. Admittedly he hasn’t looked the force of old this season, but he has long appealed as a horse that could go well at Liverpool and odds of 66/1 could underestimate his chances.

Ascot Breeze-Up Sale falls short

On the sales front, the European breeze-up sales circuit got off to a decidedly sobering start last Wednesday, with the Tattersalls Ireland Ascot Breeze-Up Sale falling well short of the returns of the previous two years.

Of the 118 horses offered, just 59 found buyers for a turnover of just over £1.4m in comparison with last year, when 84 of the 99 two-year-olds to come under the hammer were sold for in excess of £2m. The median dropped from £21,000 in 2017 to £16,000 this time around, while the average came in at £24,117 compared with £30,472 just 12 months ago at the previous sale.

This wasn’t the start to the breeze-up season that many had hoped for, but a good deal more about the state of the breeze-up market should be revealed after the two-week swing which takes in the Goffs UK Sale at Doncaster and the market-leading Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale.