For the second time, the Grand National weights lunch was held outside of London. The great and the good of the horse racing world came together at St George’s Hall in Liverpool for a bit of lunch, a few drinks and the eagerly anticipated reveal of the 2020 Grand National weights.
At 3pm, the BHA Handicapper, Martin Greenwood, unveiled the board and it was Tiger Roll who had been handed top weight of 11-10. Trained by Gordon Elliott, it wasn’t a huge surprise given the horse’s official rating of 172, which has been compressed down to 170. But top weight is a burden that most connections hope to avoid so speculation about a guaranteed run at Aintree is sure to follow today’s announcement. Particularly in light of what his owner Michael O’Leary has previously said about his participation.
Second in the weights is his stablemate Delta Work, also on joint top weight of 11-10. Again this is unsurprising given the caliber of chaser that he is. That said, he is well and truly ear-marked for Cheltenham and at only 7-years-old will undoubtedly swerve Aintree this year.
Bristol De Mai comes in third on 11-08 with the Colin Tizzard trained Native River on 11-06.
Last year’s runner-up, Magic Light saw her weight increased from 10-11 to just 10-12 which hopefully won’t hamper her chances of another shot in the Aintree spectacular.
Ten horses have been given 11st or more. BHA Handicapper Martin Greenwood, who framed the weights for the second time this year said: ““I have made Tiger Roll and Delta Work joint top-weights for the Randox Health Grand National.
“This decision was made essentially on two factors – historical compression which was brought in by Phil Smith and has been used for the last 10 years or so. On the other hand, I have to give Tiger Roll this mark based on his efforts over the national fences at Aintree where he is of course unbeaten.
“Tiger Roll was rated 172 at the end of last year and obviously there is no recent evidence to go on because of his fitness issues, so his handicap mark has been unquantifiable since.
“He is therefore coming down 2lb and carries the same weight as Suny Bay did when he was second in the 1998 Grand National. No other horse has carried that rating since. Many Clouds won off 11st 9lb, but he did not have as high a rating.”
Connections at Gigginstown have yet to comment on the weights given to their list of entries.
Grand National 2020 Weights
| Horse | Age | Wgt | Owner | Trainer | ||
| 1 | Delta Work (FR) | 7 | 11-10 | 170 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 2 | Tiger Roll (IRE) | 10 | 11-10 | 170 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 3 | Bristol de Mai (FR) | 9 | 11-08 | 168 | Simon Munir & Isaac Souede | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 4 | Native River (IRE) | 10 | 11-06 | 166 | Brocade Racing | Colin Tizzard |
| 5 | Anibale Fly (FR) | 10 | 11-02 | 162 | J P McManus | Tony Martin IRE |
| 6 | Aso (FR) | 10 | 11-02 | 162 | The Bellamy Partnership | Venetia Williams |
| 7 | Cadmium (FR) | 8 | 11-02 | 162 | In Our Element Syndicate | Willie Mullins IRE |
| 8 | Elegant Escape (IRE) | 8 | 11-02 | 162 | J P Romans | Colin Tizzard |
| 9 | Top Ville Ben (IRE) | 8 | 11-02 | 162 | Harbour Rose Partnership | Philip Kirby |
| 10 | Beware The Bear (IRE) | 10 | 11-00 | 160 | G B Barlow | Nicky Henderson |
| 11 | Chris’s Dream (IRE) | 8 | 11-00 | 160 | Robcour | Henry de Bromhead IRE |
| 12 | Alpha des Obeaux (FR) | 10 | 10-13 | 159 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 13 | Jett (IRE) | 9 | 10-13 | 159 | G M McGrath | Jessica Harrington IRE |
| 14 | Peregrine Run (IRE) | 10 | 10-13 | 159 | V Byrne | Peter Fahey IRE |
| 15 | Total Recall (IRE) | 11 | 10-13 | 159 | Slaneyville Syndicate | Willie Mullins IRE |
| 16 | Magic of Light (IRE) | 9 | 10-12 | 158 | Ann & Alan Potts Limited | Jessica Harrington IRE |
| 17 | The Storyteller (IRE) | 9 | 10-12 | 158 | Mrs Pat Sloan | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 18 | Voix du Reve (FR) | 8 | 10-12 | 158 | Andrea & Graham Wylie | Willie Mullins IRE |
| 19 | Ballyoptic (IRE) | 10 | 10-11 | 157 | Mills & Mason Partnership | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 20 | Talkischeap (IRE) | 8 | 10-11 | 157 | Charles Dingwall | Alan King |
| 21 | Yala Enki (FR) | 10 | 10-11 | 157 | Hills of Ledbury Ltd | Paul Nicholls |
| 22 | Burrows Saint (FR) | 7 | 10-10 | 156 | Susannah Ricci | Willie Mullins IRE |
| 23 | Definitly Red (IRE) | 11 | 10-10 | 156 | Phil & Julie Martin | Brian Ellison |
| 24 | Ok Corral (IRE) | 10 | 10-09 | 155 | J P McManus | Nicky Henderson |
| 25 | Sub Lieutenant (IRE) | 11 | 10-09 | 155 | Gigginstown House Stud | Henry de Bromhead IRE |
| 26 | Tout Est Permis (FR) | 7 | 10-09 | 155 | Gigginstown House Stud | Noel Meade IRE |
| 27 | Crievehill (IRE) | 8 | 10-08 | 154 | Highclere T’Bred Racing- Crievehill | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 28 | Jury Duty (IRE) | 9 | 10-08 | 154 | Sideways Syndicate | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 29 | Lake View Lad (IRE) | 10 | 10-08 | 154 | Trevor Hemmings | Nick Alexander |
| 30 | Vintage Clouds (IRE) | 10 | 10-08 | 154 | Trevor Hemmings | Sue Smith |
| 31 | Pleasant Company (IRE) | 12 | 10-07 | 153 | Malcolm Denmark | Willie Mullins IRE |
| 32 | Acapella Bourgeois (FR) | 10 | 10-06 | 152 | Slaneyville Syndicate | Willie Mullins IRE |
| 33 | Any Second Now (IRE) | 8 | 10-06 | 152 | J P McManus | Ted Walsh IRE |
| 34 | Champagne Classic (IRE) | 9 | 10-06 | 152 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 35 | Mister Whitaker (IRE) | 8 | 10-06 | 152 | Tim Radford | Mick Channon |
| 36 | Potters Corner (IRE) | 10 | 10-06 | 152 | All Stars Sports Racing & J Davies | Christian Williams |
| 37 | Shattered Love (IRE) | 9 | 10-06 | 152 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 38 | Death Duty (IRE) | 9 | 10-05 | 151 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 39 | Dounikos (FR) | 9 | 10-05 | 151 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 40 | Kildisart (IRE) | 8 | 10-05 | 151 | Simon Munir & Isaac Souede | Ben Pauling |
| 41 | Ramses de Teillee (FR) | 8 | 10-05 | 151 | John White & Anne Underhill | David Pipe |
| 42 | Acting Lass (IRE) | 9 | 10-04 | 150 | Nigel & Barbara Collison | Harry Fry |
| 43 | Double Shuffle (IRE) | 10 | 10-04 | 150 | Crossed Fingers Partnership | Tom George |
| 44 | Kimberlite Candy (IRE) | 8 | 10-04 | 150 | J P McManus | Tom Lacey |
| 45 | Saint Xavier (FR) | 8 | 10-04 | 150 | David Maxwell Racing Limited | Paul Nicholls |
| 46 | Valtor (FR) | 11 | 10-04 | 150 | Simon Munir & Isaac Souede | Nicky Henderson |
| 47 | Walk In The Mill (FR) | 10 | 10-04 | 150 | Baroness Harding | Robert Walford |
| 48 | Warriors Tale | 11 | 10-04 | 150 | Trevor Hemmings | Paul Nicholls |
| 49 | Chef des Obeaux (FR) | 8 | 10-03 | 149 | Sullivan Bloodstock Limited | Willie Mullins IRE |
| 50 | Class Conti (FR) | 8 | 10-03 | 149 | P Joubert | Willie Mullins IRE |
| 51 | Traffic Fluide (FR) | 10 | 10-03 | 149 | Galloping On The South Downs | Gary Moore |
| 52 | One For Arthur (IRE) | 11 | 10-02 | 148 | Two Golf Widows | Lucinda Russell |
| 53 | Romain de Senam (FR) | 8 | 10-02 | 148 | Chris Giles & Dan Macdonald | Paul Nicholls |
| 54 | Snugsborough Benny (IRE) | 10 | 10-02 | 148 | R Loughnane | Liam Cusack IRE |
| 55 | Dallas des Pictons (FR) | 7 | 10-01 | 147 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 56 | Give Me A Copper (IRE) | 10 | 10-01 | 147 | Done, Ferguson, Mason, Nicholls & Wood | Paul Nicholls |
| 57 | Lord du Mesnil (FR) | 7 | 10-01 | 147 | Paul Porter | Richard Hobson |
| 58 | Now McGinty (IRE) | 9 | 10-01 | 147 | The Garratt Family | Stuart Edmunds |
| 59 | Poker Party (FR) | 8 | 10-01 | 147 | Robcour | Henry de Bromhead IRE |
| 60 | Steely Addition (IRE) | 8 | 10-01 | 147 | Step By Step | Philip Hobbs |
| 61 | Takingrisks (IRE) | 11 | 10-01 | 147 | Frank Bird | Nicky Richards |
| 62 | Borice (FR) | 9 | 10-00 | 146 | Simon Munir/Isaac Souede | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 63 | Heron Heights (IRE) | 11 | 10-00 | 146 | Barry Maloney | Henry de Bromhead IRE |
| 64 | Hogan’s Height (IRE) | 9 | 10-00 | 146 | Foxtrot Racing: Hogan’s Height | Jamie Snowden |
| 65 | Regal Encore (IRE) | 12 | 10-00 | 146 | J P McManus | Anthony Honeyball |
| 66 | Activial (FR) | 10 | 9-13 | 145 | Roger Brookhouse | Tom George |
| 67 | Atlanta Ablaze | 9 | 9-13 | 145 | The Last Man Standing | Henry Daly |
| 68 | Cabaret Queen | 8 | 9-13 | 145 | SyndicatesRacing | Willie Mullins IRE |
| 69 | Dalko Moriviere (FR) | 7 | 9-13 | 145 | Ecurie Sagara | Jerome Larrigade FR |
| 70 | Dragon d’Estruval (FR) | 7 | 9-13 | 145 | Simon Munir & Isaac Souede | Nicky Henderson |
| 71 | Le Breuil (FR) | 8 | 9-13 | 145 | Mrs Emma Palmer | Ben Pauling |
| 72 | Outlander (IRE) | 12 | 9-13 | 145 | GOWING’S ELEVEN | Richard Spencer |
| 73 | A Toi Phil (FR) | 10 | 9-12 | 144 | Teme Valley 2 | Gary Moore |
| 74 | Cogry | 11 | 9-12 | 144 | Graham and Alison Jelley | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 75 | Dingo Dollar (IRE) | 8 | 9-12 | 144 | M Warren J Holmes R Kidner & J Wright | Alan King |
| 76 | Flying Angel (IRE) | 9 | 9-12 | 144 | R J Rexton | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 77 | The Hollow Ginge (IRE) | 7 | 9-12 | 144 | The Ginge Army | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 78 | The Young Master | 11 | 9-12 | 144 | Mike Burbidge & The Old Masters | Neil Mulholland |
| 79 | Mall Dini (IRE) | 10 | 9-11 | 143 | Philip J Reynolds | Patrick Kelly IRE |
| 80 | Monbeg Notorious (IRE) | 9 | 9-11 | 143 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 81 | As de Mee (FR) | 10 | 9-10 | 142 | The Stewart Family & Judi Dench | Paul Nicholls |
| 82 | Fitzhenry (IRE) | 8 | 9-10 | 142 | J P McManus | Paul Nolan IRE |
| 83 | Joe Farrell (IRE) | 11 | 9-10 | 142 | M Sherwood, N Morris & J Turner | Rebecca Curtis |
| 84 | Ravenhill (IRE) | 10 | 9-10 | 142 | Try Ravenhill Syndicate | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 85 | Roaring Bull (IRE) | 7 | 9-10 | 142 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 86 | Townshend (GER) | 9 | 9-10 | 142 | J D Neild | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 87 | Vieux Lion Rouge (FR) | 11 | 9-10 | 142 | Prof Caroline Tisdall & John Gent | David Pipe |
| 88 | Ami Desbois (FR) | 10 | 9-09 | 141 | The Reserved Judgment Partnership | Graeme McPherson |
| 89 | Missed Approach (IRE) | 10 | 9-09 | 141 | Alan & Andrew Turner | Warren Greatrex |
| 90 | Moonshine Bay (IRE) | 7 | 9-08 | 140 | Ann & Alan Potts Limited | Jessica Harrington IRE |
| 91 | Noble Endeavor (IRE) | 11 | 9-08 | 140 | Chris Jones | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 92 | Out Sam | 11 | 9-08 | 140 | D Charlesworth | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 93 | Fingerontheswitch (IRE) | 10 | 9-07 | 139 | Cahill, Atwell & Crofts | Neil Mulholland |
| 94 | Singlefarmpayment | 10 | 9-07 | 139 | N T Griffith & H M Haddock | Tom George |
| 95 | Kilfilum Cross (IRE) | 9 | 9-06 | 138 | Andy Bell & Fergus Lyons | Henry Oliver |
| 96 | Soupy Soups (IRE) | 9 | 9-06 | 138 | Equi ex Incertis Partners | Neil Mulholland |
| 97 | General Principle (IRE) | 11 | 9-05 | 137 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott IRE |
| 98 | Spider Web (IRE) | 9 | 9-05 | 137 | J P McManus | Tom Mullins IRE |
| 99 | Princeton Royale (IRE) | 11 | 9-03 | 135 | D Nott, P Beadles, R Clarke | Neil King |
| 100 | Scoir Mear (IRE) | 10 | 8-12 | 130 | J P McManus | Tom Mullins IRE |
| 101 | Rathlin Rose (IRE) | 12 | 8-10 | 128 | Fergus Wilson | David Pipe |
| 102 | Disco d’Authie (FR) | 11 | 8-07 | 125 | Mme Magalen Bryant | David Cottin FR |
| 103 | Prince of Scars (IRE) | 10 | 8-07 | 125 | Simon Munir/Isaac Souede | Gordon Elliott IRE |
