Sir Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp had great success in their careers as football managers at the highest level. The pair lifted some of the biggest trophies in the game between them, including the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
The duo, often in opposite ends of the dugout, are set to battle it out again, but this time in the Grand National at Aintree. Both men have entries in the world’s most famous steeplechase as owners, as they bid to land the £1 million race in Liverpool.
Hitman Has Been in Good for Ferguson
Ferguson has won some of the biggest races around in the world in horse racing, but the richest Jumps race in the UK still eludes him. Hitman is 125/1 in the Grand National odds to give him his first success this year.
Djelo held on for victory in the Denman Chase!
Is he your choice for the Ryanair next month?#ITVRacing pic.twitter.com/1vF2P8Pi1z
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) February 9, 2025
The chaser, who is trained by former Champion Trainer, Paul Nicholls, is likely to be one of the outsiders that is popular in the Grand National tips this year. He has finished second in his last three appearances on the track, including last time out in the Grade Two Denman Chase at Newbury.
Hitman is the 13th highest-rated horse in the Grand National field, so he is guaranteed a run. With 23 races over fences, he has a lot of experience in his career, and he has finished the course in 17 of those appearances.
Ferguson had a winner at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival when Caldwell Potter won the Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase. The horse stole the headlines last year, as he became the most expensive National Hunt purchase in history, costing £632,910. The chaser showed why so much money was spent on him, producing one of the most performances of the week at the meeting.
Shakem Up’arry a Regular at Grand National Meeting
Redknapp’s experiencer chaser, Shakem Up’arry has been a regular at the Grand National Festival over the last few years. This year will be his fourth appearance at the meeting. He ran over the Grand National fences in 2024 in the Topham Handicap Chase, finishing a disappointing 17th of 24 runners.
⚽️ Some day for the football managers at Cheltenham @Redknapp's Shakem Up'Arry wins the Plate for @benpauling1 pic.twitter.com/uulkbEaJLK
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 14, 2024
Shakem Up’arry has already given Redknapp a big race success in his career, as he won the Plate Handicap Chase at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival. Unfortunately for the former Portsmouth and Southampton boss, the horse could only come home in 14th place in the defence of his title at the meeting in 2025.
With an official rating of 145, Shakem Up’arry is currently 44th in the weights for the Grand National, so unlike Ferguson, his horse is not certain to live up at the Merseyside course. Redknapp will be hoping several of the horses above him in the list are taken out at the next entry stage. If that proves to be the case, he may just sneak into the 34-runner field with a low weight allocation.
The 2025 Grand National is one of the highlights of the sporting calendar in the UK, and this year’s contest will take place on the 5th of April at 16:00.
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