Grand National Non-Runners: Reigning champion among three withdrawals

Nick Rockett

The reigning champion, ridden to glory last year by Willie Mullins' son, Patrick, has been declared a non-runner due to coughing.

"It is frustrating, but it was a case of everything needed to go right to get him here and, unfortunately, we just didn't get everything go right," P. Mullins said earlier this week. "He could have run, but we didn't want to do that if he wasn't 110%. You need to be 110% to run in a race like the Grand National and, unfortunately, he is not at the moment."

He was attempting to become just the second back-to-back winner since Red Rum was a triple champion in the 1970s.

Pied Piper

Gordon Elliott's first reserve, Pied Piper, was drafted in as Nick Rockett's replacement, but has since withdrawn due to mobility issues.

"He was a bit tight yesterday evening [Wednesday] and he's just not right this morning [Thursday], he's lame behind, so obviously horses come first and foremost," said Elliott. "He's at home. Very unfortunate for the owners, staff and everyone involved."

Philip Hobbs and Johnson White's Imperial Saint has stepped in as the second reserve.

Spillane's Tower

Jimmy Mangan's Spillane's Tower opted to run in Thursday's Grade 1 Aintree Bowl, where he pulled up.

The Henry De Bromhead-trained Amirite, ridden by Phillip Enright, has replaced Spillane's Tower in Saturday's Grand National.

Will there be any more replacements?

The final cut-off point was at 13:00 on Friday, meaning that if there are any more horses who are declared non-runners between now and the start time of 16:00 on Saturday, the maximum 34-strong field size will be reduced.

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