Feature: Walsh eyes first-ever win in Grand National for female jockey

It's been described as one of the world's greatest sporting events, the ultimate test between jockey and horse, the Grand National.

This Saturday, 40 horses will compete over the 3,600m course with a worldwide audience of around 600 million tuning in to watch the drama unfold at the famous Aintree racecourse in Liverpool.

But there is one mountain still to conquer for any aspiring participant - will a female jockey ever win the world's greatest horse race?

One woman who thinks the answer is a resounding Yes is jockey Katie Walsh. In the 2012 race Walsh came third, separated from the winner by a distance of a tantalizing 12 meters. It was the best ever finish in the race's history by a female.

Recalling the day she almost made racing history, Walsh commented: "I thought I was going to win. I look back now, sometimes you think 'If I'd done this, or done that' - no one has watched that DVD more than me. It definitely came to a point where I thought I was going to win."

It was 1977 before the first female jockey rode in the race when Charlotte Brew's hopes on 200-1 shot Barony Fort ended when the horse refused to jump the fourth last fence from home. Since then a further 22 horses have been ridden by females.

Asked if a female can one day win, Walsh responds: "I think it will happen. I hope it does happen. It's fantastic that women can take on the men at the same level."

Walsh has been made an ambassador for Aintree and on Friday, Ladies' Day at the three-day Grand National Festival, she will host a Grand Women's Summit bringing together females from the sport of horse racing.

Walsh is ready and waiting to be booked for this year's race, but if that doesn't happen she will be cheering on her sister-in-law Nina Carberry who has already been picked to ride 33-1 shot First Lieutenant in Saturday's Grand National. For Carberry, the 30-year-old daughter of jockey Tommy Carberry, it will be her fifth Grand National, with the 2010 race her best attempt when she finished seventh.

Three females have trained Grand National winners, but that place in history still beckons for a woman jockey to win the greatest prize in horse riding.

Around 150,000 people from across the world will attend this year's festival of 22 races, including that ultimate challenge, the Grand National.

It's estimated a quarter of Britain's adult population will place a wager on the race, many people trusting luck by sticking a pin in the race card to select their choice.

First run over ploughed fields in the 1,830s, today's Grand National features 30 fences, including some of the most testing hurdles in the world, demonstrated by the number of horses who have lost their lives taking part.

With a million pound prize (1.5 million U.S. dollars) for the winner, the race remains open to both amateur and professional jockeys. Endi