The Grand National contenders with Aintree in their blood

Even with many of its teeth filed down in the name of safety and modernisation, the Randox Grand National is still the singular challenge in National Hunt racing.

We'll be in the dark as to whether those having their first attempt will take to it until 5.15 on Saturday but something can still be gleaned from a few runners who have blood ties with the race.

Kimberlite Candy has been regularly mouthed as a potential winner of late, the Flemensfirth gelding having finished second in the last two Becher Chases and coming from the sort of robust National Hunt family that gives him great appeal.

He has an immediate link through his half-brother Hawkes Point, who was always at the rear behind Pineau De Re here in 2014 but was second in a Welsh National and won a Classic Chase.

There’ll also be a groan of recognition at the mention of the name Alfie Sherrin, another of Kimberlite Candy’s siblings. Quirky but capable, he looked a National winner in the making for much of his career only to miss Aintree on several occasions after fine efforts at Cheltenham.

He falls short of the mark claimed by Class Conti, who becomes the third member of his family to tackle Liverpool's daunting green fences.

Patrick Joubert’s terrific broodmare Gazelle Lulu is already responsible for Ucello Conti, who ran in three consecutive renewals as far back as 2016 (unfortunately failing to complete each time) and had another thwarted mission aged 13 in Thursday’s Foxhunters’.

Rather more decorated was multiple Grade 1 winner Silviniaco Conti, who was given a roll of the dice against his half-brother in 2016, showing prominently for the first half of the race before losing his place.

Class Conti's half-brother Silviniaco Conti was a regular on the main stageCredit: Edward Whitaker

Those looking for National genealogy further back in the pedigree should go no further than Mister Malarky, who hails from a prodigious dynasty bred in the West Country by Henry Cole.

The granddam of the Colin Tizzard contender is a certain Dubacilla, that doughty David Nicholson chaser who followed up a second to Master Oats in the 1995 Gold Cup with fourth behind Royal Athlete here. Dubacilla’s Cole-trained half-brother Just So was an agonising runner-up a year earlier with Simon Burrough, fathoms beneath the handicap cut-off point, only just failing to overhaul Richard Dunwoody aboard Miinnehoma.

Red-hot favourite Cloth Cap has a particularly famous relative on his page, too. His fourth dam, Lady Artist II, is also the great grand-dam of Amberleigh House, who galloped to glory for Ginger McCain in 2004, having also finished third a year earlier. Cloth Cap's grand-dam, Mill Lady, is also a half-sister to the dam of Niche Market, the Irish National winner who was fifth to Ballabriggs in 2011.

Sire power

National horses appear from a multitude of backgrounds, making corresponding sire and breeder stats a little specious, with serial placers such as State Of Play popping up again and again to distort the figures.

Old Vic has featured, either when landing the French Derby on the track after a majestic front-running ride by Steve Cauthen, or by being the sire of top-quality jumpers, for about as long as many of us will remember watching racing.

Now exactly a decade after the Sunnyhill Stud giant’s death, it won’t be long now before his presence is restricted to being a broodmare sire, as there is a dwindling and grizzled band of his progeny left on the track.

With two winners, Comply Or Die (2008) and Don’t Push It (an Old Vic one-two in 2010) as well as Sunnyhillboy’s agonising defeat to Neptune Collonges in 2012, he is the most successful stallion with a runner this year.

The omens are not particularly good for his son Ballyoptic, however, given the likely outsider fell in 2019, has not set pulses racing on a couple of goes in the Becher as well as four outings this season and failed to find a new owner when offered in the Goffs UK Online March.

Ballyoptic is one of the last remaining runners for the late Old Vic

With no Tiger Roll in the field, there will be no third 'consecutive' laurels for Authorized as he happily continues his career in Turkey, so the most successful active stallion to be represented is Milan, who got on the roll of honour four years ago with One For Arthur as well as achieving another place with Double Seven and ought to have many more chances to further his record.

Last year’s Kim Muir winner Milan Native is his most plausible contender should he rediscover that form for the Denise Foster stable, while less likely stayer Double Shuffle doubles his team.

The much-missed Presenting, sire of Ballabriggs, would have a second National hero should Paul Nicholls’ Give Me A Copper cause a surprise.

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