So it’s a mark of 166 Tiger Roll needs to defy if he is to equal the great Red Rum by winning a third Grand National in a little under two months time.

The 11-year-old is 20/1 market leader for the race but whatever you think about his chance of winning off that assessment, 7lbs higher than his win two years ago, he faces a battle just to get the chance to try, with his owner Michael O’Leary lukewarm about a repeat bid.

O’Leary, speaking on Racing TV's Luck On Sunday show recently, summarised his thoughts on running Tiger Roll back in the National when he said: “If the handicapper rates him fairly somewhere in the 150s then he'll run [at Aintree], but if he rates him in the 160s or 170s he won't. The plan has always been to go for the cross-country.”

You take some things O'Leary says with a pinch of salt and whether he truly meant what he said on this occassion is somewhat uncertain, with some suggesting the aim was there to manipulate Tiger Roll's weight, by pressuring the handicapping team with such an ultimatum.

Martin Greenwood, the British Horseracing Authority senior handicapper, was never going to pass heed on such comment and said as much when the weights were revealed for the race on Racing TV earlier today.

Ruby Walsh believes 166 is fair for the 11-year-old and I’d imagine both Michael and Eddie O’Leary feel that way too. But there are significant hurdles to be jumped, quite literally starting at Navan this Sunday, when Tiger Roll is in line to run in the Boyne Hurdle.

On his form so far this year, the 11-year-old wouldn’t be winning the Grand National off a mark of 146, never mind 20lbs higher. He was beaten 29 lengths in a one-mile-six-furlong flat race at Navan and then pulled up around the Cross Country course at Cheltenham in November, the same course that first revived him into the legend he has become.

There has to be a chance that the horse, who began his career as a juvenile hurdler, and has 39 chase starts to date, might just be on the wain now. That said, Gordon Elliott said he finished lame after his run at Cheltenham last time and with that there is still hope that the Tiger can roar again.

It starts with Navan this Sunday, in a race he has won before en route to Aintree. He is a 10/1 chance against the likes of stablemate Fury Road, Sams Profile and Ronald Pump, but he will surely need to show some of his old spark to even get on the plane to Cheltenham, never mind Aintree.

The hope is he can do, because a treble-seeking Grand National contender would be a unique showcase for racing at a strange time, but also a time of opportunity, with serious viewership numbers expected on terrestrial television.

Headed

The weights are headed by the classy Bristol De Mai, an intriguing contender himself, along with Easysland and Santini. There are 43 Irish entries in all, 30 of which are inside the top 70 - which should give you a fighting chance of making the cut. Gordon Elliott has 16 entries in all, the most of any other trainer and 10 of those are inside the top 65.

Willie Mullins has eight entries, six of which are weighted in the top 47.

Of the Mullins potentials, Burrows Saint (156) is probably the most interesting. Ruby Walsh said that when he won the Irish Grand National on him in 2019, he thought Aintree would be ideal for the now eight-year-old. Willie Mullins is clearly of the same opinion because he said today that the Susannah Ricci-owned chaser has basically been in training for the National for the last 24 months. So if there is a National horse in Closutton this year, it’s probably this fella.

He is another who needs to revive his form this year. He was well beaten in the Grade 2 Galmoy Hurdle recently but his intended return to fences at Fairyhouse in the Bobbyjo Chase could prove the trick and if this has been the plan all along, he’ll be simmering up nicely for that contest. Mullins has often used the Fairyhouse three-mile contest for his premier National horse, most recently with Rathvinden who went on to finish third at Aintree.

Magic Of Light (156) has been given a 5lb higher mark than her brilliant run to finish second to Tiger Roll two years ago, and she is 2lbs better off with the Elliott runner now.

Eyecatcher

Anibale Fly (155) catches the eye. Tony Martin’s 11-year-old was fourth and fifth in the last two renewals of this contest off marks of 159 and 164 respectively. That saw him carry weights of 11st 8lb and 11st 10lb but should he line up at Aintree again this term, he’d likely only have 10st 12lb on his back. He was shadow of his former self racing in Irish Grade 1 chases last season but he hasn’t run yet this term and he will certainly be interesting if Martin can get a run into him in the coming weeks (he’ll need to run in a chase to qualify).

Paul Nolan’s Discorama (149) is another quietly-campaigned chaser who could be a very interesting contender for this contest. Placed at the last two Cheltenham Festivals, another big run in the Cotswolds could make him attractively handicapped for this.

And what about The Jam Man, who is also guaranteed a run with his rating of 150 putting him into the top 40. He was a little disappointing in his run over hurdles at the Dublin Racing Festival but his last chase start was a demolition of the Troytown Chase.

He is small for a chaser and the National fences would be a hefty task for him but that hasn’t stopped Tiger Roll and while we learned plenty about the industry in the last 12 months, one thing that sticks out is not to underestimate Ronan McNally.