Donald McCain is looking to emulate his father Ginger by training a horse to win back to back Grand Nationals.
The only horse to win successive Grand Nationals is Red Rum, who claimed victory in the world's biggest race in both 1972 and 1973. The legend then won a third time at Aintree in 1977 to write his name in Grand National folklore.
Red Rum's trainer Ginger McCain is now synonymous with the race and his son Donald claimed his slice of glory when training Ballabriggs to victory in the 2011 Grand National. He is now aiming to emulate his father's success by saddling the winner of this year's race.
Ballabriggs is up 10lbs for that success but McCain is still confident in the horse's chances.
“Nobody’s saying it’s going to be an easy task but if ever a horse was going to be able to carry weight, it’s him," he said. "He’s a great, strong horse – he carries himself and he’s got a lot of presence.
“I don’t think you ever know until you get there, but we can only go on what we see at home, and his work is as good as it’s ever been, if not better.
“He’s going to need to be, but he could conceivably still be improving.”
Ballabriggs is currently a best price of 14/1 with
bet365 to win the 2012 Grand National.