Grand National Handicap Chase Betting Tips

Grand National Handicap Chase Betting Tips

Britain’s single biggest betting event is back; the Grand National at Aintree.

Now, it goes without saying that this is our toughest race of the year to get right. 40 runners, 4¼ miles, 30 fences and all sorts of different types of stayers gunning for their share of the £1 million prize money.

To attempt to get some stats and trends together, we went back ten runnings to 2010. We ignored Tiger Roll’s two winning years, as he was a National freak, while 2020 was abandoned.

Those aged 8-11 are common winners, as are those carrying 10-6 to 11-9 rated 143-157. Those who like to race up with the pace have also done best in this race.

With all of that taken into consideration, here are eight against the Grand National field for you to consider: 

Main Contenders

Back On The Lash

This fella’s name alone will make him a very popular bet with casual punters this weekend, so don’t get too excited if money comes for him overnight.

That said, he is here on merit and boasts some sound claims. Though he was pulled up at the Cheltenham Festival, he’s done very well on the cross-country course there which as we know stands them in good stead for this event.

Cloudy Glen

Trevor Hemmings’ colours. Venetia Williams training. What’s not to like? In the context of a ‘National’ he seems perfect and not just on the surface.

Cloudy Glen is a Ladbrokes Trophy winner who’s had to have some time off. He will be at his best on Saturday and at the weights, he has an outstanding chance under Charlie Deutsch.

Diol Ker 

Noel Meade runs Diol Ker for Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown Stud. We do hope he approves of the handicap mark he’s been given.

In any case, his efforts in the Leinster National and at Leopardstown in the last year entitle him to plenty of respect in this race.

Eva’s Oskar

Tim Vaughan’s runner has a nice rating and a handy weight. He’s won 3 from 15 over fences so far and has run second three more times. He won over 3¼ miles at Cheltenham over the winter and it seems stamina won’t be a problem, so he makes the shortlist.

Gaillard Du Mesnil

Being rated 155 and carrying 11 stone is not a barrier to success in this race anymore, especially when the horse in question is trained by the master Willie Mullins.

We like this horse, though Mullins is as much a problem as a positive as we reckon this horse is a little shorter in the betting than he ought to be based on his handler.

After winning the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham he has a brilliant chance here, with top jockey Paul Townend on board.

Le Milos

Dan and Harry Skelton have done very well in big handicaps all season but this would top the whole thing off.

Their Le Milos has won 50% of his case races so far, he stays a trip and he appears to be getting better over time so he must have a fair each-way chance.

Minella Trump

Donald McCain knows all about this race and he will have prepared Minella Trump perfectly.

After a year and a half of going over shorter trips, it was noticeable how much this horse improved for going over three miles at Perth last spring and we can’t help thinking he will reach a new level over 4½.

As many good National horses are, he has prepared with a run over hurdles and remains of strong interest.

The Big Breakaway

Joe Tizzard trains this one, and though he pulled up last time he has a sound chance. Before that latest disappoint effort at Cheltenham he’d put in two very solid displays at Haydock and at Chepstow in the Welsh Grand National. Another step forward here sees him go very close.

Summary

As ever with the Grand National, it is not recommended to put all your eggs in one basket. While we don’t subscribe to the “anything could happen” and “it’s a lottery” type of theory, it’s true that in a 40-runner race lots goes on and back luck befalls many.

At the prices offered, between 14/1 and 66/1 at the time of writing, split your stakes between four runners; CLOUDY GLEN, GAILLARD DU MESNIL, MINELLA TRUMP and THE BIG BREAKAWAY.

You can go each-way if you like. If you do, then look for extra places and give yourself even more insurance. Our main recommendation is to use a Dutching calculator to enter the total amount you want to spend, the odds your horses are offered at and split the stakes between them accordingly.


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