Nina Carberry: Any Second Now has a massive chance
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Ladbrokes ambassador Nina Carberry discusses the prospects of Any Second Now in the Grand National and the other contenders for Aintree glory.
Any Second Now has a massive chance again this year. He has done very little wrong, he has won the Bobbyjo Chase, and he is running that distance again. He was completely hampered last year. I know he has a lot more weight which isn’t ideal but he is coming here with a brilliant run behind him and he has a massive chance.
I think we deserve to be favourite, the weight might be putting people off a little bit but we know he acts around here and you need a horse who can jump at Aintree. He is a worthy favourite and one of Ireland’s leading contenders.
Minella Times will probably show his best form all season here, and we know Snow Leopardess jumps around here as well. However, I think our biggest threat is Delta Work. He is another with a super bit of work under his belt coming here and I think he has the class.
Everyone was saying he should have been in the Gold Cup. He may not have won it but he would’ve ran well and that’s the sort of class horse he is.
If we can’t win it, I would love to see Ciaran Murphy win it with Enjoy D’Allen. It would be a lovely story for a small yard. He is in the race at the right weight and comes into the race in good form and has had a nice prep.
It will be a big ask for Minella Times with the fact that he has been out of form a bit, but Tiger Roll was able to do it and we would love to see it happen again for Rachael Blackmore. She is a trailblazer and her story is amazing, something we should all embrace. What she has done for racing and all the girls coming through is unreal; she is an exceptional role model. She will never get away from the female aspect of it but she has proven that she is well capable of riding as just a jockey and not a female jockey.
I have ridden in six Grand Nationals and it is an amazing feeling. It’s like you’re going out to battle. You try and find your wee space amongst 40 horses to tackle these fences. Your heart just races. When you’re jumping off you are just looking for some luck in running and as long as you have a good partner it’s the biggest thrill you will ever have.
My favourite Grand National ride was on Forest Gunner (pictured above); my first ride around there. He gave me a brilliant spin and I actually thought crossing the Melling Road I had a right chance but he just didn’t stay the trip. He wasn’t the height of the fences so I couldn’t see over them so it was such a thrill.
