A February Grand National? Better that than fewer runners if change is needed

Change is once more being discussed in relation to the Grand National, a natural consequence of the upsetting fact that two popular chasers, Eclair Surf and Discorama, are no longer with us. One of the options mentioned, by Lee Mottershead in these pages and Rob Wright in The Times, is fewer runners, perhaps as few as 30.

Like Battle Group at the start a few years ago, this is the point where I dig my heels in. There is no point trying to save the Grand National if in so doing you turn it into something other than the Grand National and, in my view, a large number of runners is at the heart of the race's appeal.

I'm aware some people regret the move to take timber out of the middle of the fences a decade ago and feel the National stopped being its old self at that point. But it remains as thrilling as ever and the great boon of that change was six consecutive runnings without a single equine fatality, the best period for the race in half a century. Alas, it seems our luck has turned.