Irish trainer Gordon Elliott set to have record number of runners in the Grand National  

Trainer Gordon Elliott will have a record-breaking 13 runners in Saturday’s Grand National after another of his entries squeezed into the 40 guaranteed starting berths.

Bless The Wings, last year’s third, moved into the field after Sandymount Duke, the outsider owned by Rolling Stone guitarist Ronnie Wood, was forced out if the race by injury.

Hot favourite and 2018 winner Tiger Roll heads the Elliott army which makes up over a quarter of the field.

Trainer Gordon Elliott will have a record-breaking 13 runners in Saturday’s Grand National

The trainer, who also won the 2007 National with Silver Birch, is 5-4 shot to train the winner with Coral. Their spokesman Dave Stevens said: ‘Never have we known one trainer to so dominate the race.’

Elliott’s other runners include American Grand National winner Jury Duty.

Ten, set by former trainer Martin Pipe, is the current record for Grand National runners. That was in 2001 when Pipe’s third-placed Blowing Wind was one of only four finishers in the heavy-ground National won by Red Marauder.

Owner Trevor Hemmings, who is looking for his fourth win, will have three runners with Paul Nicholls-trained Warriors Tales (Harry Cobden) joining Nick Alexander’s Lake View Lad and Sue Smith’s Vintage Clouds.

There currently 22 Irish-trained horses guaranteed a start,