Big Thanks Fella to end Nicholls National duck

Three-time British champion trainer Paul Nicholls hopes to break his Grand National duck at Aintree on Saturday by watching Big Thanks Fella take victory.

Nicholls, 46, has trained three Cheltenham Gold Cup champions, and over 1500 winners, but has only ever seen one of his 40 runners in the world's most famous steeplechase even finish in a place.

That was Royal Auclair in 2005 while just eight have completed the course.

However, Big Thanks Fella has the credentials to end that poor record with a decent weight in the handicap and an impressive third in his last outing in the Grade Three Racing Post Handicap Chase in February.

Nicholls, the son of a policeman, has three other runners including the favourite, and Gold Cup fifth, My Will, to be ridden by Irishman Ruby Walsh.

"I love it the National," said Nicholls. "I think it's brilliant, but I usually end up chasing round looking for lost horses.

"Some records good or poor never get broken but I dearly hope that I end this one and I believe Saturday could be the day that happens."

Another anomaly is that 13-times champion jockey Tony McCoy has also never won the National, three times finishing in third place, but he could cap a marvellous season where he became the first jockey to ride 3,000 winners and land the event.

The 34-year-old Ulsterman has opted for his ride from last year Butler's Cabin - who fell at Bechers Brook second time round - but he showed a promising piece of form last time out when fifth in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham.

McCoy remains phlegmatic about winning the race, though, he has taken some inspiration from the fact that his native Ireland got a monkey off their back this year when they ended a 61-year drought in winning the rugby union Six Nations Grand Slam.

"If I retire and haven't won the National by then I won't see it as a major failure," said McCoy.

"It's something that some people are lucky to have and some people aren't and you need everything to go right."

There are two previous winners of the race involved.

Last year's stage-stealer Comply Or Die, who has shown little since to recommend him winning again.

Silver Birch, the winner two years ago and who was sold by Nicholls the previous year, travels over from Ireland having done even less than Comply Or Die when he won having competed just three times.

However, his trainer Gordon Elliott believes he has got the horse in tip top condition.

"I do feel the horse has really started to come into form," said Elliott.

Others who fit the bill of potential placed horses include Darkness, trained by Charlie Egerton, the well backed Parsons Legacy, who has not raced since mid-December, Irish contender Irish Invader, winner of his last three starts, and Kilbeggan Blade.



show by Swiss National Circus Knie. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

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