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 bytwo-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 tackled some of the fearsome fences as if they were mere brush hurdles.
He was like an ambling,agile 7 foot, 6 inch basketballer, with leaping power to match. This year, it has all been very different. Party Politics' first two outings resulted in the gelding being twice pulled up, and on the second occasion he reportedly bled. But a transformation was about to take place, as Gaselee and the vets decided that the real problem was that Party Politics could not get his breath.
So, for the second time in his career, the gelding underwent an operation on his wind, with a tube being inserted in his neck and a hole, to allow air to flow more freely, fully visible. Suddenly, Party Politics was a new horse, showing staggering improvement when romping home the four-length winner of the Greenalls Gold Cup at Haydock Park at the end of February. Llewellyn reported: ''Since the operation, Party Politics makes a hell of a noise when he's racing.