The Corach Rambler owned by Lucinda Russell is in no better shape than when his defence of the Randox Grand National crown halted at the first gate.
After winning One For Arthur in 2017, the Kinross trainer achieved her second victory of the year when the ten-year-old won the race for owners The Ramblers last season by a margin of two and a quarter lengths.
This year, Corach Rambler wanted to follow in the footsteps of legendary horses like Red Rum and Tiger Roll by winning back at Aintree, but first, he had to contend at the highest level of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
His third-place performance behind Galopin Des Champs was an excellent race, and it gave him a pretty generous handicap for the Grand National.
As a result, he had strong support upon his return to Liverpool and began at 15-2 under Derek Fox, having dominated the ante-post phase.
Unfortunately, Corach Rambler's stumble after the first fence caused him to lose the race just a few moments after it started, unseating Fox.
Then, after running loose to the second fence and falling when he met the ground on the other side, his connections were spared the agony of watching him run the remainder of the race without a ride because he was caught and corralled ahead of the third fence.
She mentioned: “He just seemed to stumble and it’s one of those things, but luck was on our side still as he’s absolutely fine.
“He went into one of the corrals, it’s very good how they work, he was caught quite quickly and that was a relief.”