MORE than 60 tonnes of spruce have made their way to Aintree racecourse for the construction of its famous fences.
With the nation’s favourite steeplechase only days away, head groundsman Mark Aynsley and his award-winning team are putting the finishing touches to the 16 jumps.
He said: “We are looking good everything is on course. This year, we have added extra padding to the jumps to prevent scrapes.”
Mark and his four-man team have worked seven days a week for the last three weeks building the hedges and preparing the ground.
Andy Bennett, from the Forestry Commission, which supplies the spruce, said: “It is a long-held tradition for Aintree racecourse to source branches from surplus trees in Grizedale Forest to construct the jumps in the Grand National and we are only too happy to help out.
“Many of the branches used at Aintree are from trees which were felled by people having chainsaw training.”
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