Nicky Henderson's stable jockey won the race in 2003 aboard Monty's Pass and has a chance of repeating the feat on the talented eight-year-old.

Henderson has yet to win the National but has trained the son of Anshan for the race all season, with his campaign yielding two wins and two seconds from four runs.

The ground is currently soft on the National course with more rain forecast, but that isn't worrying the Irish jockey either.

"He's handled slower ground before," said Geraghty. "He jumps well, he jumped well in the Topham - he just needed further really.

"He's been progressing throughout the season and I think he's got a big shout."

Talent

It could be another huge week for Geraghty who bagged the jockeys' title at the Cheltenham Festival, with Riverside Theatre in the Betfair Bowl and the talented Simonsig among his other rides.

Riverside Theatre steps up to a trip in excess of three miles on a left-handed track for the first time but Geraghty isn't concerned on either count.

He told At The Races: "He jumped the second fence flat (In the Ryanair Chase) and he didn't know if he was going left or right handed then. He's won at Newbury and I don't think it makes any difference.

"I'd be more than happy with the trip. He looked like a stayer at Cheltenham and looked like he wanted further."

Meanwhile, Simonsig runs in the John Smith's Mersey Novices' Hurdle on Saturday but Geraghty is already looking ahead to his novice chase campaign next year.

"I'm mad about him," he said. "You could run him over two miles but I always thought that 2m5f would give him a chance at his hurdles.

"He'll have no problem coming back to two miles over fences, he'll respect his fences more.

"He'd be a better chaser than a hurdler. We're looking forward to this weekend but we're looking forward to next year too."