‘He’s a National horse in my eyes’ – 40-1 Irish hope looks perfect for Aintree ☘️

Finishing third behind only Paul Townend and Rachael Blackmore in the Irish jockeys title race last season, Sean Flanagan has hit a consistent number of winners in recent seasons. He claimed a first Cheltenham Festival winner in 2021 and likes his chances of a Grand National to add to that in 2022. Our horse racing tips will soon to taking aim at the spring festivals.

A horse he recently rode to victory looks an ideal horse for the Grand National. His mount is a best priced 40-1 with Unibet at time of writing with four places currently on offer or 33-1 with Paddy Power and Betfair who are providing an extra place.

“The first thing that entered my head… was Aintree”

It’s been a lot of work to get School Boy Hours right in order to be able to fulfil his potential but his win at Leopardstown in the Paddy Power Chase over Christmas suggests that connections have done exactly that. It was his first win over fences in ten starts but he had kept some warm company as a novice.

Stamina has looked his strong suit, doing his best work at the end of his races. That was again the case at Leopardstown, getting up in the final strides. A first try over a marathon trip looks absolutely tailor made for him and given that he has not had too many chances, there should be better still to come from him.

A half-brother to Grade 1 winner Finian’s Oscar suggests that there is a little bit of class about him. He looks more of a stayer than that smart sibling though. His jumping has improved as he has matured which will stand him in good stead for Aintree. He looks a genuine contender for the most famous race in the world.

If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.