10 April 2023 , 15:14
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A university student from Edinburgh will take a break from his textbooks to be at Aintree on Saturday as one of the owners of Randox Grand National favourite Corach Rambler.
Cameron Sword, 21, who is studying Business at Heriot-Watt University, had no interest in horse racing before the pandemic but has already become a two-time Cheltenham Festival winner as a member of the Ramblers syndicate.
“I got into racing during Covid, when I would just watch any sport that was being shown on tv,” he said.
“I’m based in Edinburgh, which is around 20 miles from Lucinda’s yard, so I’d go down there to learn more about the sport and it went from there.
“Lucinda and Scu (Peter Scudamore, partner) along with their bloodstock agent Paul (McIvor) bought Corach for £17,000 and Lucinda set the syndicate up on the back of that.”
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Corach Rambler had his first start under Rules for Russell in January 2021 and it didn’t take him long to make an impression, winning twice over hurdles before switching to the larger obstacles that autumn.
The nine-year-old has gone from strength to strength from there and Sword admitted that he was still coming to terms with just how lucky he has been.
“It’s a complete underdog story and it always has been,” he said. “Winning the Ultima the first time at Cheltenham was amazing itself, but to go back there and do it again and now be favourite for the Grand National is just a dream for all of us.
“It’s my first horse, but some of these guys have had a few horses in the past and have never experienced anything like this before – so it just opens my eyes to how lucky I’ve been.”