Grand National – An Early Look At The Betting

It’s always good to find a horse you fancy for the Grand National, and track his form throughout the weeks and months building up to the biggest race of them all. Betfred are also offering some interesting antepost specials, so we’re going to take a look at them, as well as a few horses to keep your eye on.

9/1 on a previous winner winning again
Most Likely: Many Clouds 

Oliver Sherwood and Leighton Aspell will return to try and defend their crown with Many Clouds – the reigning champ is the current favourite in the betting at a best price of 12/1. Since his Grand National win last year, he has been in solid form. A disappointing 6^th on his seasonal reappearance has been followed by two decent seconds. A good showing in the Cheltenham Gold Cup would be nice, but he finished sixth there last year and still went on to win the Grand National.

7/2 on an Irish trained winner
Most Likely: Don Poli

Willie Mullins hasn’t won this race since 2005, but Don Poli is a very interesting and high quality Grand National entrant, currently sitting second in the betting at 25/1. The current RSA champion will be having a crack at the Gold Cup this year, he is very highly rated and has only finished outside the top two once in his career.

Bryan Cooper and Don Poli

12/1 on a J. P. McManus owned winner
Most Likely: Cause of Causes

J. P. McManus first won the Grand National in 2010 and will be hoping proven stayer Cause of Causes will give him even more reason to celebrate this time round and can be found at 40/1 in the current betting. He finished really strongly to win last year’s National Hunt at Cheltenham, his form may have dipped since then, but he has been dropped back in trip recently to get back up to speed. The longer trips really suit him and since falling in his third ever race, he has completed all of his last 29 races.

Other Betfred Specials include 7/4 on all horses to clear the first fence and a 20/1 price in the winning jockey being female for the first time ever.

Aside from these specials, there are some big prices around which may well offer antepost value:

Double Welsh Grand National winner Mountainous is sitting at 40/1 in the betting. The eleven year old battled through the rain and wind to win the Welsh National last month, he is used to running in the big, long distance races and will be eager to improve on his one and only Grand National appearance, when he was looking in good shape before falling at the 9^th.

Onenightinvienna has been running well over 3m of late, and Philip Hobbs’ seven year old can be found at a best price of 33/1. He’s in excellent form, with three wins and three seconds in his last six races, but is yet to run over any longer than 25.5 furlongs, but has shown in recent races he could have the staying power to last the 4m trip.

Mouse Morris’ experienced eleven year old First Lieutenant only experienced the Grand National for the first time last year, when a few early mistakes saw him finish 16^th. Since making his debut in 2010, he is yet to fall over in any races and only failed to finish once. He may not have won since an Aintree victory in 2013, but still remains a dangerous and consistent runner to look out for and can be found at 33/1.

See our latest Grand National Tips here