Balthazar King can break the hearts of sporting romanticists everywhere by winning the Crabbie’s Grand National at Aintree.
Seldom has the great race revolved solely around one horse, or, rather, one man.
Tony McCoy, who warmed up for the big race with victory in the Betfred Melling Chase on Don Cossack yesterday, will attempt to sign off in the most stylish way possible when Shutthefrontdoor vies for a unique piece of history.
Jonjo O’Neill’s staying chaser is a worthy favourite, make no mistake, and it is not just pure idealism which has seen him thrust towards the summit of the betting.
But unless you have been shrewd enough to take a chunk of the nice prices on offer a few months ago, he is surely too short in the market for a race of this capricious ferocity.
A little further down the betting, seemingly having gone unnoticed by most ante-post punters, is Balthazar King.
He might not possess the same unexposed profile of Shutthefrontdoor, nor is he anywhere near as big a crowd-puller as the favourite.
That should not in any way be a derogatory claim, though, as Philip Hobbs’ 11-year-old ticks virtually all of the proverbial boxes of a National winner.
More renowned for his exploits in the rather mysterious arena that is cross- country chasing, many had considered the National last year as something of an afterthought after he won so gamely at the Cheltenham Festival a month earlier.
Indeed, his first try over the Merseyside spruce two years ago was hardly inspiring as he was too head-strong for his own good and finished 15th behind Auroras Encore.
Connections knew what they were doing, though, as he returned to Aintree last spring an entirely different, more focused, horse.
Balthazar King jumped well all the way from a prominent position and stayed on determinedly for second place behind the one-year-older Pineau De Re, beaten just five lengths.
That was a mighty fine effort, but Hobbs might well have been left wondering whether his victory at Cheltenham, when he had to work very hard to defeat Any Currency by a short head, could have slightly left its mark when push came to shove.
Nothing has been left to chance this time, with Balthazar King not having seen a racecourse since he won yet another cross-country race in November.
That sense of renewed vitality punters need not worry about a lack of fitness as he has won countless times after a break allied with his proven National qualities could well see him slam the door shut on McCoy and the dreamers.
Alvarado finished fourth last season and can be relied upon to give each-way backers a good spin for their dough, perhaps even going one place better.
Irish challenger Spring Heeled, a Cheltenham Festival winner last season, has similarly been preserved with this day in mind and can dispel concerns about his trainer’s lean spell by completing the minor positions.
McCoy can get a potentially emotional day under way with a victory on Parlour Games in the opening race.
J P Ferguson’s chestnut gelding was beaten by Windsor Park at Cheltenham last time out but produced an effort which suggested that he’s still improving and is well worth another go.
Elsewhere on the card, Warren Greatrex appears bullish about Cole Harden repeating his Cheltenham heroics in the Silver Cross Stayers’ Hurdle.