Sir Alex Ferguson will have an eye on Aintree

LONDON (AP):Alex Ferguson may be worried about more than just Manchester United's result today - his horse is among the favourites in the Grand National steeplechase at Aintree.

Ferguson's Premier League leaders host Fulham today. That's also when What A Friend, a 9-year-old gelding he part owns, runs in one of horse racing's most gruelling events just 27 miles away in Liverpool.

What A Friend has odds at 12-1 in a race that features a 40-horse field and 30 tough fences.

"As the enthusiastic owner of one of the favourites, Alex will be wanting to watch it but I don't think that's possible," trainer Nicholls said. "I suspect he'll probably try to listen on the phone."

What A Friend, ridden by Daryl Jacob, will be looking to deliver a first Grand National triumph for Nicholls. He hasn't won the race in 48 attempts.

"He's a bit of a character, a lean, light sort who doesn't need loads of work, and I couldn't be happier with him," said Nicholls, who has entered three other horses for the race.

Don't Push It is looking to become the first horse since Red Rum in 1973-74 to win the Grand National two years in a row.

"To have won a lot of the good races and not the National would have been something I would have found quite hard to live with," said jockey Tony McCoy, who became emotional after ending his 15-year drought by guiding Don't Push It to a five-length victory

The Grand National, a British sporting institution since 1839, will be watched by an expected sell-out crowd of 73,000 at Aintree.