For the first time in over 70 years, a woman will provide commentary for Saturday’s Grand National. Gina Bryce will be handling the third leg of the commentary from Aintree racecourse in Merseyside for BBC Radio 5 Live’s coverage of the steeplechase.
The 41 year old broadcaster said: “Never in a million years did I think I’d get the opportunity to do something like this. It’s a first for me and very exciting, although slightly terrifying as you can imagine.”
She will then pass the baton to lead commentator John Hunt, who recently returned to work at the Cheltenham Festival last month, just days after witnessing Kyle Clifford being sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife Carol Hunt and daughters Louise and Hannah.
Bryce mentioned she would be “surrounded by great colleagues” for the race.
She added: “I couldn’t be in better hands, as I’ll take over from Darren Owen and Gary O’Brien before passing it on to John Hunt.”
She is only the second woman ever to commentate on the race, following Mirabel Topham, whose family owned the racecourse. Topham employed her own commentators and joined them on the microphone after a disagreement with the BBC over copyright in 1952.
Meanwhile Paul Nicholls has five horses in the running for the Grand National, as Kandoo Kid leads his team for Saturday’s big race.. The grey is the most fancied of the quintet, a nine-year-old with Aintree form as he was third in the Topham at the meeting last year.
“We’ve five nice horses to run and you just hope they can run to their best,” said Nicholls. “Kandoo Kid won a Coral Gold Cup and he’s the one who you hope has still got a bit of improvement in him off his handicap mark.
“He’s gone well round there before and Coral Gold Cup winners have a good record in the race. Hopefully he will be our leading chance.”
Previous King George winner and Gold Cup runner-up Bravemansgame is the mount of France-based James Reveley, with Threeunderthrufive to be ridden by Harry Skelton.
“Threeunderthrufive has been placed in a Scottish National and has been running well, and Bravemansgame is a King George winner who has dropped down the weights a fair bit,” Nicholls continued. “He’s been a great horse and as well as his King George, he’s finished second in a Gold Cup and he’s now dropped from the 170s to 155 and if he likes it, he’s a well-capable horse.”
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/uk-sport-news/bbc-make-grand-national-history-31356437
