National service has been long and so far unsuccessful for Nicky Henderson

Nicky Henderson’s Grand National record comprises of a handful of near-misses and plenty of never-nears.

For such a training Colossus, the lack of a National winner is a glaring omission on a CV that has very few blank spots. The fact he trained last year’s winner I Am Maximus in the horse’s early days before switching to Willie Mullins, sadly for Henderson, does not count!

It could all have been so different a long, long time ago, had the diminutive Rubstic not managed to rally to such great effect after the last obstacle back in 1979.

Henderson, 74, fielded his first National runner in Zongalero that year and it briefly looked like a fairytale win was on the cards, only for Rubstic to keep finding on the run-in and go on to score by two lengths.

Zongalero had two more tries in the subsequent years to no avail, and although Spartan Missile had found only Aldaniti too good in the never to be forgotten 1981 running, two years later, by which time he was in the care of Henderson at his then Windsor House Stables, he unshipped Hywel Davies – and then finished down the field 12 months on from that.

Classified and The Tsarevich then emerged as Henderson’s great hopes, with Classified jumping round to finish fifth in 1985 before improving that to a distant third behind West Tip the following year, while his stablemate was found wanting in seventh.

The Tsarevich then came within five lengths of glory himself, with only Maori Venture – who was satisfying 92-year-old owner Jim Joel’s 30-year quest for Aintree glory – in front of him at the line.

With a flurry of places, Henderson probably did not envisage having to endure an even longer wait for his National winner, but as his Champion Hurdle successes racked up, his Gold Cup horses continued to shine and his two-mile chasers quite frankly blew away the opposition, the Seven Barrows handler has not cracked the Aintree puzzle.

Brown Windsor was sent off favourite in 1990 but could finish only fourth, while Henderson’s decision to fire class acts such as Marlborough, Fondmort and 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Long Run at the race also failed to reap the expected rewards.

Liberthine finished fifth in 2007 for eventual National-winning owner Robert Waley-Cohen and his amateur rider son Sam, but the National crown has eluded Henderson through all 43 contenders so far in his storied career.

However, in Hyland he could have the ideal horse with the perfect profile for a race that is totally unrecognisable from the one in which he saddled Zongalero 46 years ago.

Second at Kempton in his pre-Aintree assignment, he is lurking at the foot of the handicap and this gallant grey decked in black and white silks might finally be ‘the one’, as US commentator Larry Colmus memorably put it when American Pharoah ended a 37-year wait for another American Triple Crown hero.

Henderson said: “He ran a fantastic race at Kempton and it is all we could have asked for, as he absolutely hated that testing ground. It’s like asking me to eat kale. It was foul.

“He’s just not a bad ground horse and basically up to now he’s just been jumping out the gate and bowling along on his own. He had to get in a ruck and didn’t know where he was and couldn’t lay up with them early on.

“But I love the way he fought and on good ground and another mile, then it gets you dreaming. After a circuit I thought the dream was over and a circuit later it is very much still alive.”

He went on: “I’ve got absolutely no history whatsoever other than plenty of goes and seconds and we’ll need a lot of luck on our side. But if we get some good ground and everything goes right, we’ll give it a go.

“The profile has to be about right and I think he has a good chance. If he can do what he did at Kempton giving weight away, then I think we have to have a squeak.”

With Gold Cups, Champion Hurdles and almost all of the sport’s greatest prizes tucked away in the Seven Barrows trophy cabinet, the Grand National would complete the collection for one of racing’s most decorated personalities.

But with a host of Grade One performers still at the peak of their powers, it would seem highly unlikely to be the final act of a long and distinguished career.

Speaking before running the enigmatic Mister Coffey in the 2023 National, Henderson said: “Well, I’m not going to suddenly leap up and say ‘that’s it’ and retire! But on the other hand, it would complete the journey, if you like.

“It’s been a long haul and I haven’t finished yet. But that is the one obvious race I’d love to win – doesn’t everyone?

“I’m sure anyone who’s won the race once, or twice, wants to go on and win it again because it’s very special. We’ve been knocking on the door a few times.

“It’s a completely different game. It would be a pity not to find one some day, but the clock is ticking.”