Businessman Trevor Hemmings is setting his sights on breaking the record for the most wins as an owner in the Grand National, it can be revealed.

Mr Hemmings notched up three victories with Hedgehunter in 2005, Ballabriggs in 2011 and Many Clouds in 2015 .

He loves to see Manx punters winning at the bookmakers’ expense and, despite all the problems caused this year by the pandemic which has meant he has not gone to a race meeting for months, he has certainly not lost his enthusiasm for chalking up a ground-breaking fourth success in the big race in Liverpool.

By his own account Mr Hemmings is a ’private’ person who rarely gives interviews, but from his base at the Ballaseyr Stud near Andreas in the north of the island he spoke exclusively to Business News.

He said: ’All roads lead to Aintree.

’I tell the trainers to watch what a horse does in its early days and if you think it is an Aintree horse give me a shout because that’s one we will keep.’

A confident Mr Hemmings said: ’I will get a fourth (Grand National), there is no doubt about that.’

He added that even at this early stage he has some horses that he believes have potential to run and do well in the big race.

He said: ’I think Deise Aba (trained by Philip Hobbs) definitely has potential as has Cloth Cap (trained by Jonjo O’Neill). Those are the two at the moment which are stand out.

’In my opinion they both have the looks of being in the Grand National and have chances.

’Come January I will look again and conclude what might be there finally. But at the moment they look the two most likely.’

Mr Hemmings said he always operated a careful planning strategy during the months leading up to the National.

Just yards from where we were talking in his boardroom, many of Mr Hemmings’ successful race horses are enjoying a happy retirement, including Hedgehunter and Ballabriggs who are buddies.

For the man who has been owning racehorses more than 35 years and has recorded hundreds of victories, it is already an amazing achievement with triple success in the National.

But it is clear his enthusiasm for the ’sport of kings’ and for the Isle of Man as well, remains undimmed and it is clear he is determined to go in the record books with four victories as an owner.

The 173rd running of the Grand National is scheduled for Saturday, April 10, and Mr Hemmings, who describes himself as an optimist, is hoping he might even by then be able to get to the event. If he did it would be his first visit across to a race meeting in many months.

’I would like to think that it would be possible to go there (Aintree). Being an optimist I’m working as if it was going to be possible.

’I’m hoping we will all have that wonderful jab that we are being promised and which satisfies the entire population.’

Mr Hemmings, 85, is one of National Hunt racing’s most successful and popular owners, with his yellow, green and white colours a familiar sight on the racecourse usually wearing one of his collection of flat caps

It was widely reported recently he decided to reduce the number of horses he has in training - and around 50 were sold at the Goffs UK September Sale.

But he is keen to stress he still has 28 horses in training with 16 trainers in the UK.

The impact of Covid-19 on his personal life and business interests influenced his decision to cut back.

Although owners are allowed to attend race meetings he took the decision to remain in the island and he told Business News he supports the Manx government’s border restrictions.

He said: ’We are in the middle of a pandemic and as you know nobody could get to race meetings for a period of time and I felt that I was paying money out consistently and it seemed for no good reason.

’Any pleasure was being reduced radically. I’m talking of the pleasure of seeing your horses run, going to the races and meeting good friends. Even having a bit of abuse given to you when you are there, all part of the activities in National Hunt racing, it’s a lot of fun.

’It’s the one time in my life when I could eat fish and chips out of a paper bag, and enjoy it.

’So I said to myself that I was missing it all.’

Mr Hemmings said one of his sons was helping to represent him, along with racing manager Michael Meagher, at race meetings while he watches the races on television.

Mr Hemmings said he believes that ’quite a number of people’ in the racing industry will also be ’cutting back’.

He said: ’It is sad for the industry but it is not something any of us has wished on that industry.

’You have to adjust according to your pocket.

’Cutting back is the right thing to do.’

Mr Hemmings said his extensive business interests in the UK were giving him enough to do from his base in the island and he revealed he is keeping up with technology.

’I’ve learned what Zoom is now. They don’t quite look the same on Zoom though,’ he laughed. Mr Hemmings showed Business News his list of 16 trainers and the 28 horses that will be carrying his colours in the weeks ahead.

The trainers are all household names including Paul Nicholls, Nicky Henderson, Venetia Williams, Sue Smith and Oliver Sherwood who trained his last National winner Many Clouds which went on to become jump racing’s Horse of the Year.

He loves giving some of his horses Manx-related names - for instance his current list includes Onchan, Marown, Santon, Atholl Street, Corrany and Farrants Way.

When Many Clouds won the National the bettting shop in Ramsey famously ran out of money because so many local backed the horse.

Cloudy Lane, named after a sign in Kirk Michael, notched up some big wins and today is also in retirement at Ballaseyr Stud where Mr Hemmings has plenty of other horses including Suffolk Punches and shire horses.

He praised the Manx government for the way it has handled Covid. He says the restrictions have been ’very sound’.

He said he could go across to the UK but then he would have to return to face 14 days’ isolation.

He said he also decided against it ’because if the people of the island in the main try to prevent this Covid coming back on the island why should I be the one that tries to destroy the way they live?

’So I am obeying the rules, that’s the best I can describe it.’

We were sitting in his boardroom, he said he calls it his ’boardroom of horses’ full of framed photographs of his race horses who run in his yellow, green and white colours.

On Saturday Mr Hemmings had a winner in a maiden hurdle race at Ayr with Castle Rushen, trained by Nicky Richards.

And also on Saturday, Onchan, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, finished a respectable third at the Yorkshire track, Wetherby.

Mr Hemmings was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for his service with The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, now renamed Carers Trust.

As well as winning the National he has lifted many other major jumps races including ones at Cheltenham.

Mr Hemmings was born in Woolwich in London.

He trained as a builder’s apprentice before going on to build his business empire.