'It's the biggest of the lot' - Henderson enters six in bid for first National

Nicky Henderson on Wednesday signalled his intent to correct the one glaring omission on his CV by entering six in the 2021 Randox Grand National – with Ok Corral and Beware The Bear nominated as leading the charge by the champion trainer.

Dual winner Tiger Roll heads the 106 entries revealed for the Aintree showpiece on April 10. His trainer Gordon Elliott has 16 in the race, while Henderson has the most of any British trainer for the contest he said is "the biggest of the lot".

The Seven Barrows maestro has yet to win a National of any description in Britain or Ireland and cannot think of a better place to break that duck than in the most valuable and historic jumps race in the world – in which he came closest with The Tsarevich, second to Maori Venture in 1987.

"It’s the race isn’t it? It's the biggest of the lot," he said. "We’ve been involved in it for years and there is something very special about it – it’s very historic and the whole meeting has a terrific atmosphere. My whole life has revolved around National Hunt racing so, not surprisingly, winning the Grand National would be very special.

Full list of entries for the 2021 Randox Grand National

"We’ve been lucky in most races, everything has fallen into line apart from in the Nationals. We managed the American one last year but that’s a bit of a fudge over two miles and five furlongs. If you’re going to win any I’d rather have Aintree."

Henderson rates the 2019 Ultima Handicap Chase winner Beware The Bear and last year's JP McManus-owned Sky Bet Chase winner Ok Corral as his best chances of securing a long-awaited victory, with Pym, Valtor and Gold Present also featuring among his list of entries.

Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Santini completes his hand but while Henderson rates him as an ideal Grand National horse for the future, he is not expected to take up his entry this year with the Gold Cup remaining his priority.

He said: "The two most likely to run are Beware The Bear and Ok Corral, who are the two that were due to run in it last year. They are being aimed primarily at Aintree.

Beware The Bear: Grand National contender for Nicky HendersonCredit: Alan Crowhurst

"There is no doubt that one day this is where Santini will go, but the objective this year is Cheltenham and he wouldn't do both. He is there as an alternative in case anything goes wrong before then. It’s a big possibility next year for him and I do think he’d be suited by the race."

Randox Grand National

Betway: 16 Tiger Roll, 20 Any Second Now, Burrows Saint, Cloth Cap, Delta Work, Presenting Percy, Secret Reprieve, 25 Easysland, Kimberlite Candy, Magic of Light, Potters Corner, Santini, The Conditional, 28 Le Breuil; 33 bar

Tiger Roll headlined the remaining entries as he bids to match Red Rum's record by claiming a historic third triumph in the Aintree marathon.

The 11-year-old, winner of the last two runnings in 2018 and 2019, is one of 16 entries for Gordon Elliott along with Grade 1 winners Delta Work and Presenting Percy.

Tiger Roll crosses the line to land his second Grand National in 2019Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Three-time Betfair Chase winner Bristol De Mai (for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies) is entered as is impressive Welsh Grand National victor Secret Reprieve (Evan Williams) and Ladbrokes Trophy winner Cloth Cap (Jonjo O’Neill).

O'Neill indicated that good ground will be key to Cloth Cap's challenge but is hopeful the nine-year-old, who runs in the colours of three-time Grand National-winning owner Trevor Hemmings, will be suited by the challenge of Aintree.

He said: "You never know [how they'll be suited] until you get there but he jumped well at Newbury and kept galloping so he’s a nice candidate to have. We’re looking forward to it and hopefully the ground dries up because that is critical to him, he needs good ground.

"It was a nice race at Newbury. He was well handicapped with a low weight and you don’t want to get carried away but he jumped well and stayed the trip well so lets hope he can do the same at Aintree, although he might not get the ground he did there," O'Neill added, who also confirmed Cloth Cap would take in one prep race in the spring when the ground is drier.

In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic meant the Grand National was not run for the first time since World War 2 and it remains to be seen if crowds or owners will be able to return this year.

ITV held a virtual Grand National last year to fill the huge void left by the race's absence, which was won by Potters Corner (Christian Williams), with the 2019 Welsh Grand National winner once again entered in the real thing this time around.

Williams said: "The virtual race was great fun at the time but we were looking forward to the real race last year and it's the same this time. We think the horse will be suited by the track and he deserves his crack at it.

Potters Corner: 2019 Welsh National winner has the Grand National as his main target for the yearCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

"We’re trying to get him there in prime condition which meant missing the Welsh Grand National. That race was always his target last year and Aintree is now his main target this year. He’s getting a bit older so we want to keep him as fresh as we can.

"We’ll go to Cheltenham for the Cross Country Chase as his trial, which we’re excited for."

Also entered are Lake View Lad (Nick Alexander) and Vieux Lion Rouge (David Pipe) who were successful in the Many Clouds Chase and Becher Chase respectively at Aintree’s last meeting on December 5.

Burrows Saint is one of eight entries for Willie Mullins, while 2019 runner-up Magic Of Light (Jessica Harrington), Yala Enki (Paul Nicholls), Any Second Now (Ted Walsh) and Easysland (David Cottin) are some of the other big names to feature.

The Grand National is the most valuable jumps race in Europe and this year holds a prize fund of £750,000, a decrease from the £1 million previously on offer.

Weights will be published on February 16 before two scratching deadlines on March 2 and March 23 and the five-day confirmation stage following on April 5.

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