Carberry in hunt to be first female Grand National winner
Published:The wait continues for a female jockey to win the Grand National, but Nina Carberry will hope its third time lucky when riding Character Building this year.
Carberry is one of 14 female jockeys to have ever taken part in the Aintree showpiece since the first in 1977 and has completed in both of her attempts to date.
Only four of these women have ever completed the course, with the best results being the fifth places achieved by both Rosemary Henderson in 1994 and Carrie Ford in 2005.
In 2006 Carberry finished ninth on board Forest Gunner and was going well for a long time on board Character Building 12 months ago without ever really troubling the leaders and eventually finished seventh.
Carberry will renew her partnership with Character Building this year and the horse is 33/1 in the Grand National odds to secure victory.
Trainer John Quinn believes that the horse will arrive at Aintree better prepared than last year and this enhances the chance of the grey to improve on his seventh-place finish.
Quinn said: “He has run five times and run three good races. He disappointed when I had a tongue tie on him and when the ground was heavy.
“He looked like he’d be fourth or fifth going to the final fence last year and didn’t quite get home. I think that was down to his preparation.”
Character Building’s chances may also be aided by the fact that he will carry 5lb less than last year, while his experience of jumping the Aintree fences can only be seen as a positive.
The 11-year-old has also previously won at a Cheltenham Festival during his career, so certainly at worst has each-way credentials as a minimum.
A £20 stake on Character Building winning the Grand National would return £660. New customers can sign up here to take advantage of free bets totalling up to £60.
