New £500,000 bonus on offer for Grand National trial winners

A new £500,000 bonus will be on offer for any horse that wins one of three designated trials before following up with victory in the Randox Grand National.

William Hill is sponsoring three established warm-ups for the famous handicap, the Becher Chase at Aintree, the Classic Chase at Warwick and the Grand National Trial at Haydock

The connections of any horse who can win one of those contests and then go on to take the Grand National itself will receive a £500,000 bonus on top of the existing prize-money – taking the full winning prize-fund at Aintree in April to £1million in total.

Dickon White, regional director north west at the Jockey Club, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting William Hill with this fantastic initiative in the build up to the Randox Grand National.

“The introduction of the William Hill Half A Mill will generate a real excitement throughout the season and we hope to incentivise some of the leading Grand National contenders to try out their credentials in one of the three qualifying races.”

Mark Howarth, William Hill’s director of racing, added: “The Grand National has a special place in the British sporting calendar and we’re excited to further elevate the build-up, and to encourage as many Grand National hopes to run in some very recognised trials for the world’s greatest race.”

Emma Lavelle has won two of the past three renewals of the Classic Chase, with Eclair Surf taking the race in 2022 and My Silver Lining triumphing in the most recent edition.

She said of the new bonus linking the race to the National: “It has got to be a good thing. Not that you need an incentive to try to win the Grand National, but it’s going to make it very interesting.

“These incentives are exciting and usually they work out very well.

“It would be an incredible achievement if a horse were to win one of the trials and then go on to win the National.

“It will certainly make for more competitive racing in these staying chases.”

Trainer Oliver Greenall, who along with Josh Guerriero saddled Iroko to finish fourth in the Grand National last season, is another to welcome the changes – even if it is unlikely to change his thought process ahead of Iroko’s second shot at Merseyside glory.

Greenall said: “It’s a great initiative and the general public want to see their National contenders out and running before the National.

“For a horse like Iroko, though, you have to think about your mark and also running a horse consistently over a long distance, it is difficult to keep them at their peak.

“To go to their optimum trip before the big day is quite hard so I would expect with Iroko we wouldn’t look at these races and stick to shorter trips before getting him to peak on the day in April.

“But it could prove perfect for a horse like White Rhino who needs to build his profile and go up a few pounds to get in the race.”