ED CHAMBERLIN: I have been trying to crack the Grand National code since the weights were revealed in February… and this is how I see it going!

What a place this is and what a race we have in store. The excitement I have on the Grand National morning is the same as when I first watched it, with my grandfather, all those years ago.

The National and FA Cup finals were the foundation of my sporting youth, the days I would dream of watching history unfold before your eyes. On Wednesday, when all was quiet in Aintree, I walked the course and reflected on the privilege I have of presenting this great race.

I referred to the nerves I feel before going on air in last week’s column, but that’s because I know what the National means to so many of you. You will all have stories about the years you supported the winner.

This, of course, is the day when the nation is in turmoil. People often ask me if I’m participating, since I’m in front of a camera. You better believe I do! Trying to crack the National Code is something I’ve been trying to do since the weights are announced in February.

So here’s how I see it: There are two horses in this 34-run match that can blow it apart. Nasalam, so spectacular when he won the Welsh Grand National at Christmas, would be a danger to everyone if he breaks free at the head of the field.

He could easily build an insurmountable lead, as he did at Chepstow, and Gary Moore, his trainer, is a master. Those comments also apply to Willie Mullins, trainer of I Am Maximus, another capable of confusing everything else.

I Am Maximus won the Irish Grand National twelve months ago and has the profile of so many past winners. He has achieved victories at Grade One level, has plenty of class and it would be no surprise to see him compete in the Cheltenham Gold Cup one day.

But I’ll stick to my guns. The Chamberlin two-way pound went to Panda Boy in February and I expect he’ll be there eventually when it matters. Martin Brassil, his trainer, won the National in 2006 with Numbersixvalverde and always has his horses cheerfully ready when it counts.

He will remain the best of all to defeat Meetingofthewaters, another Mullins candidate; Galia Des Liteaux, a mare from Dan Skelton’s stable, can fill the minor places, together with Mahler Mission, who has been kept fresh for this assignment.

It’s going to be an endurance race – it was particularly soft on the corner of the track by the Leeds-Liverpool canal – but it’s one we should all look forward to and although I’d love to have the winning betting slip, I I am proud that I found the right line at the right time.

Picking up ITV commentator Richard Hoiles to say ‘the Tiger with the heart of a lion’, after Tiger Roll’s historic second success in 2019, or ‘Scottish flags flying high again’, as I did last year, is only that matters.

What story awaits us then? Every presenter craves a decent hook, and today Lucinda Russell, Peter Scudamore and Scotland lead that charge – Corach Rambler could join the pantheon of Aintree greats by repeating his success of 12 months ago. What a joy he and his connections are to the sport. Its owners, the Ramblers, include Cameron Sword, who bought a share from his father during lockdown and has now started getting young people involved in the sport through micro shareholdings. He is my dream owner to help promote the sport to the next generation.

Willie Mullins’ I Am Maximus (above) has the profile of so many past national winners

Or could it be Tom Ellis, with his first runner as a professional trainer? Latenightpass has such a good name: his grandfather is Midnight Legend, father Passing Glass and mother Latenightdip. Other relatives include Latenightfumble. This is said to be a family fairy tale, as the 11-year-old is owned and bred by Tom’s mother and ridden by his wife, Gina Andrews.

Or could Kitty’s Light win the National for Wales for the first time since 1905? Trainer Christian Williams’ six-year-old daughter, Betsy, has been battling leukemia since March last year, a battle she is winning and now it is up to Kitty to once again provide light in these dark times.

Yesterday, Betsy and her sister Tilly skipped school to judge the style awards on Women’s Day. They stayed to watch the National, which could make for an emotional story similar to Aldaniti and Bob Champion in 1981. Like I said, what a race and what a place.

Ed Chamberlin is a Sky Bet ambassador