Saturday marks Grand National Day and the racing world could hardly be more excited.
There are four races on the card before the big one at 4pm, including two more Grade 1’s, while there is also top-class Flat action coming from Dubai World Cup Day at the same time.
This race is still the single biggest betting event in the country. 34 runners go to post, the winner claiming £500,000 in prize money. The fences may not quite be what they once were, but there are still 30 of them to jump over the course of a gruelling 4¼ miles.
Once again there are some National trends doing the rounds, but they’re mostly redundant these days. Training, feeding and veterinary techniques are different now and we can’t rely on such things as those at the top of the weights having no chance.
We’ve chosen our horses based purely on ability and progression versus weight.
Last Year’s Winner in With a Chance
Even if you’re confident about a runner in the Grand National (how could you be?), it’s always best to pick more than one as fallers happen.
A special mention goes to Iroko, who is laid out for the race and scored highly with us, as well as Broadway Boy who is a huge price. I Am Maximus, last year’s winner, is not without a chance again either despite going up the weights.
Ultimately though, we’ve chosen a shortlist of four.
The Shortlist
Based on our ratings, we particularly like Stumptown, Intense Raffles, Vanillier and Beauport.
The first three named are all high in the betting, though it’s easy to see that being the case plenty of times in the future, just like any other race. The good thing this time though, is that they are still available at 8/1 and bigger and so we can still get value.
Of the quartet, Beauport is the standout odds-wise at a tempting best price of 20/1. He may be backed down on the day.
Stumptown shot to the head of the market when landing the Cross Country race at the Cheltenham Festival, the improving horse’s fourth win in a row. That is the race used by Tiger Roll in the past as a prep for the big day. He will stay, and he’s certainly well handicapped.
Intense Raffles had been the market leader for some time before. Thomas Gibney’s runner won the Irish Grand National this time last year, then had a nice prep over hurdles. He returned to fences last time out, running very well over a trip short of his best when second in the Bobbyjo Chase.
Gavin Cromwell’s Vanillier just keeps getting better and was a nice third to Stumptown at Cheltenham. He looks well in here in these conditions.
Beauport, the value in the race, is trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, has loads more to offer yet but despite that, he already looks a guaranteed stayer. He took down the 3¾-mile Berkshire National at Ascot and seems readymade for this.
The Bet
Back all four of these horses each-way for the Grand National:
- Beauport
- Intense Raffles
- Stumptown
- Vanillier
In the case of Beauport, get extra places with your bookmaker, even if you have to take slightly shorter odds.