Preparing for the Aintree Grand National with CopyBet's Johnny Burke
Ahead of the Aintree Grand National, one of the most eagerly anticipated events in the horse racing calendar, we caught up with CopyBet brand ambassador Johnny Burke to see how his preparations are going and to find out how much winning this iconic race would mean to him.
Johnny is set to ride Willie Mullins' trained Captain Cody in Saturday's race.
We're into what they call the 'Back Nine' of the racing season now, with three weeks to go. And I've got three exciting weekends of racing ahead. Obviously Aintree is the first of those and then after that there's the Scottish National at Ayr and then we roll onto Sandown.
I'm looking forward to Aintree as it's always very special and it's been a lucky place for me over the years. I really enjoy going there and the people of Liverpool love the whole event. It's a great couple of days for us to be part of.
Yeah, I had a great spin on Minella Cocooner last year. He took to the fences really well and travelled great. I thought I'd let it slip when jumping a couple of fences a little bit awkwardly but he was very good and travelled brilliantly. As I approached the final two fences I half had that feeling of hope in me that it could happen, but in the end when I asked him for that final bit of maximum effort he'd got a bit tired. He deserves great credit for the seventh place finish though and I was thrilled with it.
My earliest memory of the race would be Monty's Pass winning it in 2003. He was trained locally to me at home and after winning the race he became sort of a stalwart of our area. There was a statue put up of him and there are still newspaper clippings up in the village hall celebrating his victory. And then I got my first ride in the race in 2015 which was obviously really special for me.
I don't really change much in terms of preparation. It's obviously a bit more exciting, being part of the National because it does attract a wider audience. People start to ask you 'who are you riding?' or 'what are your chances?'. I'd be lying if I said it doesn't get the blood pumping a bit more than most races and like I say, it's brilliant to be part of it.
I try to approach it in the same way I would do any other race although I'd say you do try and get to course nice and early as the crowds quickly build up and it's a terrific atmosphere to be part of. Also the last thing you want to be doing at these sort of festivals is rushing, so yeah, I like to get there in plenty of time and settle into my routine.
If I won the Grand National it would absolutely top my career achievements for sure. It would be magic. It's such an iconic race, not just in this country but across the world and if it did happen, it's fair to say that I'd be floating on air for weeks.
Fingers crossed I can go well on Captain Cody on Saturday.
