Ryan Mania and Sue Smith reunited for another shot at the Grand National

Mania has been booked to ride the enigmatic steeplechaser Vintage Clouds just four months after making a surprise return to racing following a five-year absence from the sport.

“It means a hell of a lot just to have them have the confidence in me to do the job – and so soon after coming back,” the jockey told The Yorkshire Post in an exclusive interview.

A first-fence faller in last year’s National before pulling up in the Becher Chase over Aintree’s iconic fences, it was widely expected that Vintage Clouds – now 10 – would not be entered for this year’s race on April 4.

But a wide-margin victory in Haydock’s prestigious Peter Marsh Chase prompted a rethink on the part of owner Trevor Hemmings, Smith and her husband Harvey, the Yorkshire showjumping legend.

And with their stable jockey Danny Cook committed to riding Brian Ellison’s Definitly Red in the big race, connections initially turned to veteran rider Leighton Aspell who won successive Nationals on Pineau De Re and Many Clouds in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Yet Aspell announced his retirement last weekend – prompting the call to Mania who has not ridden for the Smith stable since quitting racing in November 2014, just 18 months after the ride of his life on Auroras Encore, because of the extent to which the daily struggle to make the weight was affecting his wellbeing.

However, since making his comeback at the end of last October, he has ridden 14 winners from 89 rides – far more than he ever envisaged – and will partner Vintage Clouds for the first time in the three-mile Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival next month as connections want continuity in the saddle.

“The lad’s got experience round there (Aintree),” said Smith. “He will be able to get in to ride the horse fairly regularly until Cheltenham and, hopefully all being well, going to Aintree.

“He’s always been a good jockey – you can never knock him for that in all the times we won with him and, most notably of all, in the National with old Auroras.”

Mania, who hails from the Scottish Borders where he now rides for Sandy Thomson, his stepfather-in-law, is aware that this is a one-off which only came about after Aspell, 43, decided to hang up his riding boots.

However, it is also testament to the jockey’s maturity – his weight is now under control thanks to changes in his diet which enable him to eat three healthy and nourishing meals each day – and appreciation that many in racing were sceptical about his commitment after announcing a comeback.

And even though the win on Auroras Encore, the first Yorkshire-trained winner since Merryman II in 1960, was his very first ride in the ultimate race, the possibility of lining up in the National again was not even a distant dream.

“No, definitely not,” said Mania who had to be airlifted to hospital within 24 hours of his Auroras Encore victory after a fall at Hexham. “I didn’t have any hope – I just wanted to come back, ride winners and prove that I still had it. It was never in the back of my mind that I would get a ride in the National as well as Cheltenham because it wasn’t realistic. It is very hard to put it into words, but I am very pleased.”

Asked how the ride came about, he said: “It’s all down to my agent Bruce Jeffrey. He spoke to Sue (Smith) and put my name in the hat. Sue then put my name forward to Trevor Hemmings and Mick Meagher, his racing manager, and that’s how it came about.

“I’ve never sat on him – I’m going down to the stables next week – but, on his day, he is as good as anything and capable of winning at Cheltenham and Aintree. It is getting him there in the right form – they always do that – and the right frame of mind.”

Mania, 31, is also acutely aware of his debt to the Smiths after walking away from their stables – and the opportunities that they and their owners gave him – without warning.

“It’s going to be amazing. It’s like going home,” said the horseman who, with the passage of time, has come to fully appreciate what the Smiths, and their team, contributed to the early part of his career.

“It will be really, really good to be back involved there because we had so many good days together and, hopefully, we can do the same again with Vintage Clouds. I’m struggling to explain how much I appreciate the faith they’re showing in me by just putting me up. It really is amazing.

“They are masters of their trade and have been involved in the sport for so long that they don’t know isn’t worth knowing. They’ve forgotten more than many people know.

“They never put you under any pressure. Even on the big days, they are so cool, calm and collected. As long as the horse comes back safe, everyone is happy. They are a pleasure to ride for and it is great to be involved again.”