Val Dancer aiming for Midlands Grand National win

Charlie Hammond salutes riding Val Dancer after winning the Coral Welsh Grand National Handicap Chase at Chepstow Racecourse. — Val Dancer won the Welsh Grand National in December [PA Media]

After all the drama of a sold-out final day at Cheltenham, Uttoxeter takes centre stage on Saturday for the 52nd running of the Midlands Grand National.

Several Midlands-trained horses are well fancied among the 17 contenders.

The favourite looks like being Knockanore, trained by Ryan Potter at Ross-on-Wye on the Herefordshire/Wales border.

Also expected to run well along the 4m 2f course is another Herefordshire horse, Tanganyika, trained by Venetia Williams.

Another former Grand National winning trainer Lucinda Russell sends Apple Away down from Scotland.

Shropshire's Val Dancer, trained by Mel Rowley at Morville, will be looking to add to his memorable Welsh Grand National success in the fog at Chepstow in late December.

The gelding also ran well in the Grand National Trial at Haydock Park in February.

The Midlands' top trainer Dan Skelton - still clear in this year's trainers championship - sends Galia Des Liteaux, ridden by younger brother Harry.

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The start line at Uttoxeter race course with the field running away into the distance towards the first turn — Uttoxeter held its first race meeting in 1907 [Ged Scott - BBC]

The Midlands Grand National, first run in 1969, has its place in English horse racing history as the second-longest race in the British calendar, after the Grand National at Aintree.

It has produced two former Cheltenham Gold Cup winners - The Thinker in 1986 and Synchronised in 2010 - and a former Grand National winner in Rag Trade, who triumphed 50 years ago.

The attendance will not approach Cheltenham levels but an expected 10,000 crowd will create the usual electric atmosphere at the small Staffordshire track.

"We're looking at having around 10,000 here," executive director Brian Barrass told BBC Sport.

"That would be around 500 up on 2024 and 1,500 up on 2023.

"We're expecting the Grandstand and Premier area to sell out on the day. But we have capacity in the Centre Course."

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Val Dancer aiming for Midlands Grand National win

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