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Ed Chamberlin: Premier League and Grand National so hard to call

Image: Liverpool: Now third favourites after late winner at Fulham

There's just a third of the season left to go and we are still as far away as ever from knowing who will win the title, the Champions League places and which three teams will be relegated from the Barclays Premier League.

Horse racing

One of the most eagerly anticipated days in the racing calendar used to be the release of the Grand National weights. Bar a lavish luncheon for the racing fraternity and a great photo of the trainers on Abbey Road, this week's event passed without many good stories in the back pages or market movers with Sky Bet. Gone are the days of major plunges after Phil Smith announces the weights. This is because while the modern day Grand National remains a magnificent sporting event and spectacle, it has become virtually impossible for punters to find the winner. The authorities have done a great job making the race safer, Smith a top job ensuring top horses are incentivised to run and that it's ultra-competitive but the smaller fences and handicapping of the race have turned it in to a lottery. Sky Bet are 14/1 the field and must be licking their lips. Last year the race was won by 66/1 shot Auroras Encore and in the six years prior to that we had Mon Mome at 100/1 and two 33/1 winners. What sums up the minefield is that there are 45 horses rated in the 140-149 bracket. 10 years ago you would have a short list of three or four interesting runners after the weights were announced. Now that list is 34. One potentially interesting runner is Burton Port. He was a class act on his day and has seconds in the RSA, Hennessy, Denman Chase and Aintree Bowl on his CV. He is now trained by Jonjo O'Neill who is the master with long-distance handicap chasers. Burton Port's last few runs have been moderate but it's too early to say the fire no longer burns inside him as he'll be being trained with one day in mind. As a result the 10-year-old has dropped from a mark of 166 to 145 over fences and is set to run off 10st 8lbs if Tidal Bay stands his ground. Burton Port is in the perfect hands to rekindle the embers and could be interesting at 33/1. However, the truth is that the race will look impossible on Saturday April 5, let alone in mid-February. In contrast, Sky Bet's betting on the Cheltenham Gold Cup came alive this week. Last Instalment's brilliant win in the Irish Hennessy livened up the Gold Cup market no end. It was a sensational round of jumping and great to see the horse bounce right back to the form that he'd promised before injury struck. With the Ryanair a possibility and his need for plenty of cut in the ground supporters should snap up the 8/1 with Sky Bet as they are non-runner no bet. I won't be doing so as I'd be surprised if he was good enough to beat Bobs Worth and Silviniaco Conti. The staying chasers are the one division where the British contenders look ahead of their Irish counterparts. I'd be amazed if the Irish novice chasers aren't superior, while Wille Mullins seems to have a stranglehold on the novice hurdles with his battalion of contenders. The New One and My Tent Or Yours spearhead the home challenge against the champion Hurricane Fly and his mates, which will be an epic contest but I favour the Irish raiders in that too. The Gold Cup should be one prize to stay at home and I remain firmly in the Bobs Worth camp. First Lieutenant, not Last Instalment, could still be Ireland's main contender. He's been written off after the disappointing effort in the Hennessy and is out to 16/1 with Sky Bet, plus connections seem to be considering going back to the Ryanair in which he was second last year. This is a horse that must have decent ground and you can put a line through last Sunday's run. His trainer, Mouse Morris, is the master of prepping a horse for Cheltenham and hit the bar with First Lieutenant, Baily Green and Rule The World last year. First Lieutenant could still be a major Gold Cup player but it would have to stop raining first. The problem is that there's currently more chance of finding the Grand National winner than that happening.

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