SO it looks like the announcement of the weights for the Aintree Grand National, to be run for the first time this year under the Randox Health banner, is going to be accompanied by more razzamatazz than usual this year.

It is not a bad thing in one sense. It is the most famous jumps race in the world, and it is no harm that it gets a run out in February, before the Cheltenham build-up goes frenetic, so that people can be reminded that the world/season does not end with the Grand Annual.