Nina Carberry to ride Character Building in National
John Smith's Grand National, Aintree, Saturday, 1615 BST Coverage BBC One/BBC HD/BBC Radio 5 live/online, with other races also across the BBC 8-10 April. National highlights: Sunday, 0030, BBC Two
Carberry is aiming to become the first female jockey to win the National
Nina Carberry has the chance to become the first woman to ride a Grand National winner after being handed a ride on the fancied Character Building.
The highly rated Irish amateur jockey landed the plum spare ride on the grey as a field of 40 were declared for Saturday's race at Aintree.
Top weight Madison Du Berlais heads the contenders while 2009 winner Mon Mome is next in the weights.
Abbeybraney fills the 40th position but 2007 champion Silver Birch misses out.
Other hopefuls include the 2008 winner Comply Or Die, who was runner-up last year, and the Dessie Hughes-trained pair Vic Venturi and Black Apalachi.
The 10-year-old gelding Character Building, who is trained in Yorkshire by John Quinn, was bought earlier in the week by Patricia Thompson, of Cheveley Park Stud, owners of Party Politics, who won the 1992 race in General Election year.
Another Irish amateur jockey, Jamie Codd, had been booked to ride Character Building until the new owners said they wanted a "professional" jockey.
"Mrs Thompson said she was a huge fan of Nina and said she would like her to ride the horse if Tony McCoy, Ruby Walsh or a top jockey was not available," revealed Quinn.
Pipe confident in ability of Comply Or Die
"She asked me what I thought and one could only say that she was outstanding. Mrs Thompson asked me to book Nina so I rang to ask her if she'd like the ride and she said she'd be delighted."
Character Building will be 25-year-old Carberry's second National partner after she rode Forest Gunner into ninth place in 2006, becoming the fourth female rider in history to complete the course.
A year earlier, Carrie Ford had achieved the joint best finish for a woman rider when fifth on Forest Gunner.
Nina, who has ridden four winners at the Cheltenham Festival in her career, is the sister of Paul Carberry, who won the 1999 National on Bobbyjo, trained by their father Tommy, who won the National himself on board L'Escargot in 1975.
The last amateur victory in the Grand National came when Mr Frisk won with Marcus Armytage - now a racing correspondent for the Daily Telegraph - on board.
John Smith's Grand National entries Saturday 10 April, 1615 BST
1 01-3244 MADISON DU BERLAIS 9-11-10 (David Pipe) Tom Scudamore
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