NO horse has won successive Grand Nationals since the great Red Rum in 1973-74, but last year's hero Party Politics appears next in line to rectify matters in the world's greatest steeplechase today. Victory would propel the gelding's talented partner Carl Llewellyn to the very top rungs of his hazardous profession, alongside such household names as Peter Scudamore and Richard Dunwoody. And it would also carve out a special niche for Nick Gaselee, thequietly-spoken, gentlemanly trainer from Upper Lambourn, who once attempted, rather unsuccessfully, to guide the heir to the throne to riding glory on the Turf. The story of Party Politics is already bordering on the extraordinary, so why should it all stop now? Bought for a big, undisclosed sum, on the eve of last year's National, he carried the purple and pink colours of Mrs Pat Thompson to a thrilling win by two-and-a-half lengths over Romany King. Over four-and-a-half miles (7,200 metres), with 30 fences of all shapes and sizes to be jumped, Party Politics was in his element. Standing nearly 18 hands tall - you would need a stepladder to see over his back - he