Grand National hero Corach Rambler to return at Kelso before Betfair Chase bid at Haydock

Grand National winner Corach Rambler will begin his season at Kelso – ground permitting – before a possible crack at the Betfair Chase.

Russell targeted the Edinburgh Gin Chase at the Borders, near his home, on October 28, before bigger targets awaited him.

With a return to Aintree mooted, Russell admits that, apart from his new handicap of 159, emulating Tiger Roll and Red Rum will be difficult.

“We’ll get it started at Kelso at the end of the month, providing the ground is in good condition, and then we’ll have a good preview of the Betfair Chase at Haydock. That should give us a good idea of ​​where we’re going .stand up to these Graded pursuers and then we can come up with a little more specific plan for what his season will look like,” said the new William Hill ambassador.

“It would be great to return to the Nationals as we know he loves it there, but it will obviously be a tougher task this time given he will be much higher up the weights.

“I’m not sure we know how good he is, because winning a Grand National like he did and being as fresh as he was after he came out was something you don’t see very often.

“Scu (Peter Scudamore, partner and assistant) couldn’t believe how good he felt after that and we think he got even better over the summer. The way he approaches things makes me thinking that there might be a lot more under the hood that we don’t know about, which, if true, is incredibly exciting for all of us.

“He’s different than any other horse I’ve ever been associated with. He just does things differently and he really tells you how he’s doing and what state of mind he’s in. He’s so smart and smart about everything what he does and we can’t do it. wait until we start the season with him.