» Matthew Rennie

Matthew Rennie

Matthew Rennie is a journalism student at the University of Sheffield who is in the final year of his degree. Since a young age he has built up experience working in Horse Racing media. His works include writing spotlight comments for Sporting Life and reporting from Yarmouth Racecourse for BBC Radio Norfolk. His overall career goal is working as a journalist in the horse racing industry, with the aim of becoming a commentator.
@matt_rennie13

March 15th 2020, 2:09 pm

The ones who ‘sneak in’: How did the outside National prospects fare at Cheltenham?

By Matthew Rennie

While all of the rage around the Cheltenham Festival was around how Tiger Roll would fare in his prep race for a historic bid at the Grand National, there were also many other Aintree hopefuls on show during the four days at Prestbury Park. Bristol De Mai and Elegant Escape faltered in the Gold Cup, […]

March 15th 2020, 12:30 pm

Coronavirus latest – Aintree Grand National hangs in the balance

By Matthew Rennie

As the Local MPs for Liverpool allude to a complete cancellation of the Grand National, Aintree Racecourse will likely remain tight lipped until Monday when the British Government is expected to update their strategy to stem the spread of Coronavirus. The strand, Covid-19, has wreaked havoc across the world and is showing very little signs […]

March 8th 2020, 1:00 pm

Which horses will put their Aintree reputations on the line at Cheltenham?

By Matthew Rennie

Racing’s eyes are fully focused on events over four days at Prestbury Park next week, with a host of runners hoping to secure their place in history as a Cheltenham Festival winner. However, a few horses will also be having their eye on events at Aintree just three weeks after Cheltenham, with the National as […]

March 8th 2020, 12:54 pm

What National trials are there to look for at Cheltenham?

By Matthew Rennie

The wait is very nearly over for another four glorious days at Prestbury Park. The Cheltenham Festival is just around the corner, which usually means all the Grand National hopefuls are stored away to wait for their turn in the limelight. The general consensus is the Festival is rarely a place to run your trial […]

February 23rd 2020, 7:39 pm

Dual Grand National hero Leighton Aspell bows out from race-riding

By Matthew Rennie

The Grand National will lose a familiar face this year after jockey Leighton Aspell will retire from the saddle after racing at Fontwell on Sunday. The 43-year-old, who briefly retired between 2007 and 2009, will end his career that has produced hundreds of winners, including on board Itsnotwhatyouthink in the concluding bumper at the West […]

February 23rd 2020, 7:34 pm

Contrasting fortunes for National hopefuls on the road to Aintree

By Matthew Rennie

The @WillieMullinsNH Monopoly in The BobbyJo Chase @Fairyhouse continued Yesterday #AcapellaBourgeois making it 8 Victories in the last 10 renewals . Only @gelliott_racing got a look in with 2013#RoiDuMee @_Davy_Russel_ 2015 #RoiDuMee @92bryan92 @gelliott_racing #Fairyhouse pic.twitter.com/SbiURoWY8W — Joe Seward (@JoeSeward1) February 23, 2020 With all the Cheltenham Festival trials done and dusted for now, attention […]

January 30th 2020, 1:26 pm

The entries: which horses may be a surprise addition to the Grand National?

By Matthew Rennie

As expected, the ‘people’s horse’ Tiger Roll headlines the entries once again for this year’s Grand National as he bids for a historic third success in a row and is likely to face a handful of re-opposing rivals. Last year’s second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth all feature among the initial entries at this stage, […]

January 30th 2020, 1:20 pm

Tiger Roll on course for historic bid after headlining National entries

By Matthew Rennie

Tiger Roll remains on course for his bid at creating Grand National history after featuring among 105 entries for this year’s contest. The ten-year-old became the first horse since Red Rum to win back-to-back victories in the Aintree spectacular with a heart-warming success last year, but Gordon Elliott’s charge has yet to be seen on […]

January 28th 2020, 1:21 pm

Henderson throws Ok Corral’s hat into Aintree mix after Doncaster victory

By Matthew Rennie

Everything is fine and dandy at the Ok Corral. Your 2020 Great Yorkshire Chase winner. #Doncaster pic.twitter.com/JxEVXuw6tj — Steve Mullington (@mulldog) 25 January 2020 Trainer Nicky Henderson has nominated the Grand National as a potential end-of-season target for Ok Corral after his gritty success in the Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster at the weekend. The […]