Tom Ellis takes out full licence to train Latenightpass for Grand National

This season Latenightpass has switched to the care of Dan Skelton.

Leading point-to-point handler Tom Ellis has decided to take out a full licence to enable him to saddle Latenightpass in the Randox Grand National at Aintree next month.

Owned and bred by the trainer’s mother Pippa Ellis, the 11-year-old has been a prolific winner between the flags and has also proved his worth in the hunter chase sphere, most notably winning the 2022 Foxhunters’ Chase over the Grand National fences under Ellis’ wife, Gina Andrews.

This season Latenightpass has switched to the care of Dan Skelton, the brother-in-law of Andrews’ sister Bridget, and has enjoyed a fine campaign – but Ellis views the prospect of running a horse so close to his heart in the world’s most famous steeplechase as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“I suppose taking out a full licence is something we’ve been considering for some time and when the opportunity arose to potentially have a Grand National runner, we thought we probably should try and get that done,” he said.

“I felt that however long I trained for, we will never have a Grand National runner bred by mother and ridden by my wife, so it made sense to try and get it done in time if we could.”

Latenightpass made a highly encouraging first start for Skelton when second on his cross-country debut at Cheltenham in November and returned to the Cotswolds to go one better the following month.

Ellis revealed it was after that success in the Cotswolds that his Grand National dream came into sharper focus.

Gina Andrews celebrates winning at Aintree aboard Latenightpass
Gina Andrews celebrates winning at Aintree aboard Latenightpass (David Davies/PA)

He added: “We sent him to Dan because Gina has been desperate to have a ride in that cross-country race at Cheltenham for years and we just felt like the course would suit the horse, so he went to Dan to do that as we weren’t able to run him in it.

“It wasn’t until that he won at the second Cheltenham meeting that we had a realistic opportunity to go for a National and once he had gone up in the weights to hopefully get in, we thought we should give it a go really.”

Since his Cheltenham win pre-Christmas, the veteran has finished down the field in the Grade Two Prestige Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock, but Ellis is not overly concerned.

“The weather Gods were against us at Haydock, he has won in heavy ground before but it was biblical up there and it was definitely a stepping-stone towards Aintree as opposed to being a big target,” he said.

“He is the gift that keeps on giving – he’s been a phenomenal little horse for us. He’s been placed three times from three runs over the National fences, albeit in the Foxhunters’, and he was fourth in the hunter chase at the Cheltenham Festival when ridden by Bridget in the Covid year because amateurs couldn’t ride.

“He’s been fairly lightly raced, which is why I think he’s still running right up to the best of his ability at the age of 11.”

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