He'll be trying to win the race for the second year in a row, something that hasn't been done since Red Rum in 73-74. He's something like 41 in places for a race that hasn't had as short-a-priced winner in living memory.

You won't find me doubting him, though. Aside from the weight . . . which I'll get to in a bit . . . none of these things matter or make any difference.

I wouldn't switch rides for anything else in the race. This horse loves Liverpool and is coming off what I see as the best run of his career in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. I wrote here the week before the festival that I thought he'd have a decent each-way chance but I never dreamed he'd run that well, so for him to come to the last with even a squeak of winning was really encouraging. If he runs that kind of race again and stays out of trouble, we won't be very far away at the finish.

Top weight over a distance of four-and-a-half miles and 30 jumps is a burden, there's no doubt about it. When he won last year (pictured right), Hedgehunter was the first horse since Rhyme 'N' Reason in 1988 to carry over 11st and win. Giving Numbersixvalverde and Clan Royal over a stone apiece won't be easy, especially since with a bit more luck Clan Royal would probably have won this race by now. But because the weighting system for the National is different than for run-of-the-mill handicaps, my horse is actually not as badly off as he could be. So the weight is a factor but it isn't crippling.

People often wonder what sort of plan you go into the National with. The answer is that there's no plan. You go into the race with an idea alright, a decent notion of how you'd like things to go, but things change so quickly that it usually all goes out the window after the first fence. A half-decent start is vital so that we're travelling going to the first fence instead of chasing. If we can manage that, we've given ourselves a chance.

It's the only race I know where there's a chance of you going from 20th to third in one fence. Horses will fall in front of you, loose horses will stray across your path. No matter how careful you are to stay clear of trouble, it can always still find you, like it did with Tony McCoy and Clan Royal last year. The secret is to be in a position where you can dictate your own pace and not have to be worrying about staying with or falling behind the others.

It's hard to believe that I'll be trying to win a third National next week. Obviously each year is different.

There's no real way of comparing winning it at my first attempt on dad's horse, Papillon, and winning it last year on Hedgehunter. In Papillon's year, I was only back from being out with a broken leg. I'd been to Cheltenham and had done nothing and went to Aintree with Papillon as my only ride for the whole meeting. I'd never ridden in the race before. To win the National in those circumstances was beyond a dream come true.

In saying that, last year obviously couldn't have turned out any better either. It was after the Irish Grand National meeting at Easter that Willie Mullins asked me if I'd ride Hedgehunter at Aintree and I said I'd be delighted to.

I've been working for Willie since I was 16 and for him to put me on a horse that he thought could win the National was special. It was a great vote of confidence from somebody who's as much a friend to me as a boss.

I'd ridden Hedgehunter a couple of times as a novice and I always felt he was a fine horse. I knew he'd stay forever and that his jumping wasn't a worry. When you have those two qualities in a National horse, all you need is the help of luck and you're in with a definite chance.

Thankfully, the luck went our way last year. I remember having the life frightened out of me when we came to Becher's Brook but I survived well enough and once we got to the elbow, I asked him to go and he did. The thrill of it is hard to describe.

Hopefully, I'll get the chance to have a go at doing so in this space next week.