Corach Rambler heads Grand National contenders

Last year's winner Corach Rambler heads the contenders for Saturday's Grand National at Aintree, with the final line-up named on Thursday.

The maximum number of runners for the Aintree contest has been cut to 34 from 40 this year for safety reasons.

Corach Rambler, trained in Scotland by Lucinda Russell, leads British hopes in a field dominated by Irish runners.

Irish trainer Gordon Elliott has nine horses guaranteed a run, while compatriot Willie Mullins has eight.

After Monday's confirmation stage, 51 entries remain in the race, with the 34 top-rated horses making the final field.

Panda Boy, at 32, is the last horse sure of making the line-up.

Eklat De Rire, Chambard and Kitty's Light share the same National mark so if the top 32 are confirmed on Thursday morning, a random ballot will decide which two of these three horses will fill the final two places.

Scottish National winner Kitty's Light would bid to be the first Welsh-trained winner since Kirkland in 1905 for trainer Christian Williams, whose young daughter Betsy is being treated for leukaemia.

Shakem Up'Arry, a winner at the Cheltenham Festival last month for owner Harry Redknapp, needs four withdrawals to stand a chance of running.

With heavy rain in the build-up, owner Ronnie Bartlett has stated his pair Galvin and Stattler will not take part if the ground is too soft.

Corach Rambler, bidding to be only the second horse after Tiger Roll to win back-to-back Nationals since Red Rum in the 1970s, is about 5-1 favourite with the bookmakers.

Approximate odds: 5-1 Corach Rambler, 7-1 I Am Maximus, 9-1 Vanillier, 10-1 Meetingofthewaters, 12-1 Mr Incredible, Panda Boy, 14-1 Kitty's Light, 16-1 Mahler Mission 20-1 Bar

Irish trainers have developed a stranglehold on big jump races, winning 18 of the 27 contests at the Cheltenham Festival.

After Cheltenham, British Horseracing Authority chief executive Julie Harrington said the domination was "damaging" the sport and said more needed to be done to encourage the top horses to be bred, owned, trained and raced in Britain.

Mullins, who led the way with nine winners at Cheltenham as he reached the landmark of 100 Festival victories, has leading hopefuls including I Am Maximus and Meetingofthewaters.

Elliott's team includes top weight Conflated, Delta Work and Chemical Energy.

Activist group Animal Rising says it will not disrupt the Grand National this year after protesters entered the track and delayed the race by 14 minutes in 2023.

Police arrested 118 people on the day of the race, in which the gelding Hill Sixteen suffered a fatal injury.

As well as reducing the line-up, organisers have brought the contest forward an hour and 15 minutes to 16:00 BST to provide safer ground for runners, and there will be a shorter run to the first fence to slow horses down early on.

The introduction of a standing start and further veterinary checks are among other changes.