Grand National under scrutiny after recent deaths

Aintree, England: With four horses having died in the past two Grand Nationals, there has rarely been such scrutiny on the world’s most gruelling steeplechase heading into the 2013 race on Saturday.

The National - a 4 1/2-mile, 30-fence race - remains one of the iconic fixtures on the British sporting calendar, attracting tens of millions of television viewers and people visiting bookmakers each year.

Past winners, such as three-time champion Red Rum, have been adopted as national treasures.

Forever lurking away, though, are nagging doubts about the safety of the horses involved, never more so than in the past 12 months with two having died in each of the last two races. One of those in 2012 was Synchronised, the favourite and Cheltenham Gold Cup champion at the time.

Recent modifications to the course have failed to satisfy many critics and animal rights groups who continue to call for the event to be scrapped. Ten horses have died in the Grand National in the past 12 years and 20 have died in races over Grand National fences since 2001.

Jockeys and owners have been forced once again into defending the race this week.

“I hope to God there are no accidents this year, but these things happen,” jockey Katie Walsh said this week.

Jonjo O’Neill, the trainer of Synchronised, agrees.

“It’s always been a fantastic race and it still is,” O’Neill told The Times. “People saying the National should be stopped just don’t understand. Some of the things said about us are an insult, as if we are animals ourselves. There are people out there stabbing and shooting, killing randomly, and sometimes it seems we are being put in the same bracket.”

The Aintree Festival got off to an ominous start Thursday, however, with Battlefront collapsing and dying after being pulled up during the Fox Hunters’ Steepelechase. Ironically, the horse was being ridden by Walsh.

“I would like to extend our sympathies to the Walsh family following this sad news,” John Baker, who runs the Aintree course in Liverpool, said in a statement. “You can never remove all risk from horseracing, as with any sport. However, welfare standards are very high and equine fatalities are rare, with 90,000 runners each year - with a fatality rate of just 0.2 per cent.”

The severe injury suffered recently by JT McNamara, who was left paralysed after falling from his horse during the Cheltenham Festival last month, has also increased fears about the safety of jockeys as many of the famously high fences around the Grand National course involve sheer drops.

Organisers are continually faced with the dilemma of balancing the race’s enduring appeal with attempting to keep it as risk-free as possible, and settled on changes to fence design, landing areas and course irrigation following a review that took place in May.

The start has also been brought 90 yards forward, away from the noise of the crowd in the grandstands, after issues in the 2012 race and more famously back in 1993 - when the race ended up being declared void.

Crucially, though, there will still be 40 horses involved, despite a congested field being the biggest criticism levelled at the National, while Becher’s Brook - the much-feared fence criticized for its severity - keeps the same drop and dimensions.

Usually one of the fiercest critics of the race, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has actually been impressed by the changes made.

“In all honesty they have done more than I thought they would,” said David Muir, the RSPCA’s equine consultant. “Fundamentally the changes that have been made are major already.

“They’ve taken the cores of the fences out, there is a cooling-down area now, there’s a water system and there’s a reduction in the number of drop fences. We’d still like to see changes to Becher’s Brook, the drop is still a concern.”

More fatalities on Saturday, though, would leave the event open to more criticism.

“As a team we’re going in very positive and with confidence in the race, its history and its tradition,” said John Baker, who runs the Aintree course in Liverpool. “By anyone’s standards there was bad luck involved last year.”

Unlike 12 months ago, the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner won’t be going for the distinguished steeplechase double, not achieved since 1934, as Bobs Worth hasn’t entered.

The reigning champion, Neptune Collonges, has retired and there will be only one previous winner in the field - 2011 champion Ballabriggs.

The early favourite with British bookmakers is the Willie Mullins-trained On His Own (15-2) while Seabass and Cappa Bleu, who were third and fourth last year, are being heavily backed.

Imperial Commander, the 2010 Gold Cup winner, has entered and is top weight.