WILLIE Mullins has four in today’s Grand National and the two shortest-priced of the quartet will be ridden by son Patrick and nephew Danny, who bid to join cousin David in winning the race.

Patrick comes in for the plum ride on Burrows Saint following the injury Paul Townend sustained at Fairyhouse last weekend.

Mullins has been eating little and running plenty in order to trim down to fulfil Burrows Saint’s weight allotment of 10st 13lb but that short term pain has already paid off with his win on Livelovelaugh (11st) in yesterday’s Topham Chase. And that win aside, the wasting is surely surely worth it as the Susannah Ricci-owned eight-year-old ticks key trends and has had this race as his target since he won the Irish Grand National two years ago.

“The weight (10st 13lb) is quite light for me but it is just enough and it’s fantastic to get the ride,” Patrick said. “It was in the back of my head (that I might get the ride). I saw the weight was doable. I was watching it from then. I was never expecting to ride a horse with a live chance in the Grand National. It doesn’t get any better than this.

“I got a sit on him over at Haydock this morning (Thursday) and he ticks a lot of the boxes. He is the right age at eight years old. He has the right kind of weight and is progressing as he has only had nine runs over fences.

“Everything has gone pretty much to plan. He had a nice couple of runs over hurdles and a nice run in the Bobbyjo. I know he didn’t win but he wears a tongue strap and heavy ground wouldn’t have suited him. When he won the Irish National it was this sort of ground so that will bring out improvement.

“Ever since I was seven or eight and I read a book on the history of the Grand National, I wanted to win it. Some people like the Gold Cup, but for me this is the race I’ve always wanted to have a crack at so it doesn’t get any better.”

This will be Patrick’s fourth time to ride in the race and it will be Danny’s second. The Stayers’ Hurdle-winning rider retains his partnership with Acapella Bourgeois who beat Burrows Saint in the Bobbyjo Chase and is 7lbs better off with his stablemate today, yet is a significantly bigger price.

“I suppose there’s two ways of looking at it: is Burrows Saint too short a price or is Acapella Bourgeois too big? I think it’s probably somewhere in the middle. I’d like to think my lad has a decent chance and with Burrows being the main hope of Willie’s, that’s probably shortened his price but I thought it rode a decent race at Fairyhouse and hopefully the pair will give a good showing of themselves.

“It’s the race everyone wants to win. I didn’t get very far on my first try (brought down at the first) but I’ve finished second in a Topham before. They’re great fences to ride over once you get into a rhythm. If you can do that, you never know what can happen.

“Hopefully my fella can go well. It’s the race everybody wants to win and I’m no different.”