Horse Racing

Aintree Grand National News: Escaria Ten win will have McNeill family in seventh heaven

Tom ReedTom Reed5 April 2022
Escaria Ten (far left) during the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices' Chase

Escaria Ten (far left) during the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices' Chase

The McNeill family are a fixture on the jumps racing scene with the likes of Threeunderthrufive but a Grand National win with Escaria Ten on Saturday, April 9 will top the lot.

The McNeill family's red, white and blue silks have become a familiar sight in top races but victory in the Randox Aintree Grand National will top everything says Max McNeill.

Firmly rooted in the Lancashire town Blackburn, McNeill's formative years were spent watching Blackburn Rovers FC and the Grand National.

"It all started for me through my old man. My dad (Ted) was a professional golfer but he loved his racing. I used to spend hours outside the bookies in Blackburn with a can of coke and a bag of crisps while the old man put his bets on," said McNeill.
"On Saturday afternoons if we weren't watching Rovers, we'd be watching the racing on TV and the Grand National was the big event.
"My sister and two brothers would get involved, my dad would put the bets on and I remember names like Spanish Steps, Red Alligator, of course Red Rum, Crisp - they were household names.
"The National is like no other race, even Cheltenham, as it transcends the racing public. It is the most watched race in the world. You have all those Flat races worth millions but nothing catches the public's imagination like the National."
McNeill tends to send as many horses as possible to Aintree, with its Merseyside location not a million miles away from Lancashire.
"We've had some good runners at the meeting down the years, but all everyone wants to talk about is the National - and quite rightly. We've had Walkon run in it in 2014, but he was among the outsiders so to have a fancied runner is really exciting," he said.
"I ran a company for 20-odd years. We never had a sweepstake for the Derby but we always had one for the National and it will be the same up and down the country.
"My daughter has really been bitten by the bug - I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing - and wants a career in racing, my son not so much, it's all about cars for him. When they were younger, we'd all have a bet in the National and watch it is as a family picking our horses out. There really is nothing like it and the build up is great.
"The tension the hour before the race is unbearable, I'll have to have a few pints of Guinness!".

Daydeaming about winning the National with the Gordon Elliott trained Escaria Ten is inevitable but the savvy McNeill is keeping his feet on the ground.

"He looks a live contender but you can't let yourself think about winning the race - apart from when you've had a few to drink!" he joked.
"Realistically, it's a 40-runner handicap that everybody wants to win. They go from the off to the first like a six-furlong sprint and every fence is an event - even when I've just had a bet, never mind have a runner, it's nerve-wracking.
"You've got to let yourself get a little bit carried away in the build up because how often am I going to have a fancied runner in the National? It won't happen much that's for sure, so I'm going to enjoy it.
"Gordon actually rang me the other day and my heart missed a beat because I automatically thought he was ringing to say something was wrong, but it was something completely unrelated which made us laugh.
"I'm going to enjoy it because win, lose or draw, this is why we do it and if you don't enjoy it, go and buy a sports car."

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