Businessman Trevor Hemmings will be bidding for an incredible fourth Grand National victory as an owner in Saturday’s race at Aintree.

Mr Hemmings won the world’s greatest steeplechase in 2005 with Hedgehunter, with Ballabriggs in 2011 and Many Clouds in 2015.

Straight-talking Mr Hemmings would love nothing better than seeing a horse cross the finishing line first in Liverpool with the jockey in his green and yellow colours.

This year Mr Hemmings has three horses entered in the race.

As we went to press yesterday (Monday) UK trainer Paul Nicholls still had Warriors Tale and Vicente lined up to race. Mr Hemmings said he has ‘two great chances’ with these horses.

The third horse is Vintage Clouds, trained in West Yorkshire by Sue Smith, wife of showjumping legend Harvey. But Mr Hemmings said there was only a ‘slim chance’ Vintage Clouds will run because he is entered at number 45 and only a maximum of 40 can run.

The 82-year-old rates the Aintree Grand National meeting as his favourite along with the Cheltenham Festival.

Hedgehunter and Ballabriggs live in happy retirement at Mr Hemmings’s impressive Ballaseyr stud in the north of the island.

Bookies in the island will be watching nervously.

They know many of the island’s once-a-year punters will look for a local ‘angle’ to the race which will be screened live on ITV at 5.15pm on Saturday.

After Many Clouds won in 2015, we reported how Joe Jennings bookies in Ramsey ran out of money because so many people had backed the horse.

The flat cap wearing successful businessman, who also owns Preston North End, went into horse racing ownership in the early 1980s as a hobby.

Many in the island will be hoping his dream for more glory on Merseyside happens.