The thrills and spills of the John Smith’s Grand National may seem a world away from the genteel surroundings of Leasowe Golf Course on the Wirral, but Mark Aynsley is thoroughly enjoying the change in jobs after becoming Head Groundsman at Aintree
Racecourse.

The 30 year old from nearby Ormskirk spent three and a half years as a greenskeeper before arriving at Aintree in November 2006, shortly before the North West Masters weekend. A graduate of Myerscough College in Garstang, Lancashire, where he studied turf science, Aynsley may not have a racing background, but he is certainly no stranger to the sport of kings.

‘My family are Lancashire farmers and I used to enjoy going to the point-to-point meetings up at Kirkby Lonsdale,’ he explained. ‘I have been to the Grand National in previous years and it really is a fantastic spectacle – a unique race on a unique racecourse.’

Despite enjoying his time spent on the golfing greens, the chance to become head groundsman at Aintree was too good to pass up and he duly swapped Pringle sweaters and bunkers for muddy breeches and open ditches.

‘It was a truly fantastic opportunity to work at a magnificent sporting venue.

‘There’s so much history here and it’s amazing to be a part of it. It’s a Grade One track, home to the world’s most famous steeplechase.

‘So far, things have gone really well. The people at Aintree have been great and made me feel very welcome. I’ve gone from maintaining grass at four centimetres to maintaining grass at four inches! It’s a new challenge, but one that I am really relishing.’

The North West Masters meeting was Aynsley’s first as head groundsman, and it gave him the chance to appreciate the amount of work that goes into maintaining the course in top racing condition.

‘It was immediately obvious that the staff here take an awful lot of pride in their work and they made a huge effort to get the fences and the course in fantastic shape.
‘The construction of the fences was phenomenal. They’re built up with about 17 inches of spruce on the top, and it’s a very skilled job – almost an art.

‘For the John Smith’s Grand National, we’ll start to construct the fences about four to five weeks before the meeting starts, aiming to get everything completed a week in advance.

‘The spruce will come down from the Lake District, unless there’s a lot of snow up there, in which case we’ll have to source it from elsewhere.’

With a worldwide audience of around 600 million, there will be more eyes on the 2007 John Smith’s Grand National than any other race anywhere in the world – and Aynsley is confident that the course will be in sparkling condition come the big day.
‘Obviously, people have very high expectations of the John Smith’s Grand National meeting. ‘The track must be in as good condition as we can get it and it is
my responsibility to provide a safe and consistent surface.

‘Including myself, there are ten people responsible for course maintenance on a full-time basis, but during the National meeting, there will be lots more. ‘I’m certainly enjoying my role here and I’m very well supported by the Clerk of the Course, Andrew Tulloch, and the other staff.

‘It’s very exciting to be part of the build-up and I am really looking forward to the day itself.’

There are three courses at Aintree. The Grand National course, with its 16 fences, heads away from the grandstands across the famous Melling Road out towards its furthest point, the Canal Turn. Becher’s Brook, the sixth fence on the first circuit of the John
Smith’s Grand National and the 22nd the second time around, is the most famous of the 30 fences jumped.

But there are other well-known ones like Foinavon, which is named after the horse who avoided all the trouble at it in 1967 and won at 100/1.

The Chair in front of the stands, Canal Turn and Valentine’s are other fences to have entered into many people’s subconscious, with commentators referring to them year after year.

The two other courses at Aintree, over which most of the races are run, are the Mildmay for chasers with ordinary fences and the Hurdle track.

Whereas the Grand National course is two and a quarter miles round, the Mildmay and Hurdle courses are much sharper, contained by the Melling Road and with circumferences of just under 12 furlongs.

Three races, one on each day of the John Smith’s Grand National meeting, are run over the big fences – the John Smith’s Fox Hunters’ for amateur riders on the Thursday, the John Smith’s Topham Chase on the Friday and the John Smith’s Grand National itself on the Saturday.