Grand National winner Corach Rambler set to return in cash-threatened race at Kelso

Grand National winner Corach Rambler could return at Kelso next month in a race the course is unsure it will be able to hold next season due to radical changes to the fixture list in the name of premierisation.

Trainer Lucinda Russell is plotting a campaign culminating in the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the progressive nine-year-old, who in April gave her a second triumph in six years in the Aintree showpiece.

She could start off the dual Cheltenham Festival winner at Kelso on October 28 in the 3m2f Edinburgh Gin Chase, won by the smart Sounds Russian last season and given a £10,000 boost to take the prize-money up to £50,000 this term.

"Having won the Grand National and back-to-back runnings of the Ultima Handicap Chase, the plan is for Corach Rambler to step out of handicap company this season in the hope that he can develop into a Cheltenham Gold Cup contender," Russell said.

"An early-season target we have in mind is the Betfair Chase at Haydock. We'd probably look to get a run into him beforehand and the Edinburgh Gin Chase at Kelso is a race that will certainly come into consideration.

Team Corach Rambler celebrate Grand National gloryCredit: GROSSICK RACING

"It would fit in perfectly from a timing perspective and is a race we love to support, having won it with One For Arthur back in 2016. Michael Scudamore, who is set to join me on the licence, has also won it twice in the last four years so it is a race the yard has a bit of history in."

Kelso's first Saturday meeting of the season is traditionally well attended, advance tickets were all quickly snapped up for this year and hospitality is nearly sold out.

However, one of the effects of the radical changes being made to the 2024 fixture list, in an attempt to showcase racing's biggest cards and maximise their exposure and betting turnover, is that “premier” meetings will receive more Levy Board funding than “core” fixtures.

Kelso managing director Jonathan Garratt pointed out that staging a £50,000 chase on the equivalent Saturday in 2024 will cost the course £7,000 more than it would Cheltenham, which races the same afternoon, and wonders if the track will be able to afford it.

“We remain committed to serving the best interests of our customers and stakeholders, including northern owners and trainers, which means we want to continue running this race, which serves a valuable purpose but I’m not yet certain how we’ll make ends meet,” he said.

Jonathan Garratt: "It’s just a shame that the premierisation policy offers us no encouragement to make the best of what we’ve already developed"Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

“While southern tracks sometimes struggle to provide soft enough going in October, we’ve usually enjoyed plenty of rain by then, which makes Kelso an ideal venue for a race of this nature.

“It’s an excellent starting point for staying chasers, as we saw last year with Sounds Russian, and it’s just a shame that the premierisation policy offers us no encouragement to make the best of what we’ve already developed.”

Russell had sympathy with Kelso's plight and said of premierisation: "It shows that people are trying to bring in a rule without looking at individual circumstances and the effort, hard work and enthusiasm of those at smaller tracks."

Corach Rambler's Cotswold Chase-winning stablemate Ahoy Senor could also reappear on a smaller, independent course whose financial position is threatened by the controversial new industry strategy.

Russell said: "His early-season aim is the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury and he could have a run before then, which may be over hurdles or fences at Wetherby."

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