Minella Times will bid to go back-to-back in the race for Rachael Blackmore; Any Second Now also runs in the JP McManus colours having finished third in the race last year; follow all the action on our Sky Sports Racing blog
Monday 4 April 2022 11:43, UK
Sky Sports Racing pundit Mick Fitzgerald analyses the leading contenders for this year's Randox Grand National, which looks as ever an ultra-competitive renewal.
Any Second Now was third in the race last year and was very badly hampered at the 12th - there is no doubt that cost him. You don't know if he would have otherwise won but it definitely put him on the back foot and especially the way the race is run these days.
It is much harder now to recover from mistakes as they go such a pace nowadays. He is a 10-year-old which is a really good age for the National and he has experience of the fences.
He comes to Aintree in tip-top form as he was a winner of a Grade Three Bobbyjo Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse in February when beating Escaria Ten a nose. The only negative is that he is 7lb higher than last year.
You would like to think that without being badly hampered last year that would equate to 7lb at the very least, and he is a worthy favourite.
He is pretty versatile so isn't dependent on it being soft or heavy and has good form on decent ground.
In simple terms, it looks like his whole campaign has been geared to the Grand National, and his trainer Ted Walsh is no stranger to success in the race as he won it with Papillon in 2000.
Strong Point - He was unlucky last year, has experience of the Grand National fences and looks fairly treated.
Weak Spot - Was last year his chance?
I tipped him to win in the Cross Country race at Cheltenham as he just possesses that bit of class. Prior to that race, his last 15 races had been in Grade One company.
That is the kind of horse you are dealing with here and he just skipped around the Cross Country.
When you think it was his first time over those obstacles, to win and beat a horse who had such a prolific record around there in Tiger Roll was remarkable.
I think he is well equipped for the Aintree fences and has that bit of class. He obviously has to be on anyone's shortlist for the National.
Strong Point - Classy individual who really enjoyed the Cross Country and could well be at home over the Aintree fences.
Weak Spot - Up until his win in the Cross Country, he had been a little inconsistent.
He is only an eight-year-old and a strong stayer, having finished three lengths behind Galvin in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham last year.
He was only beaten a nose by Any Second Now at Fairyhouse, and is now meeting that rival on virtually the same terms.
He is getting 7lb in the National from Any Second Now and was getting 8lb at Fairyhouse and he is ticking a lot of the right boxes.
This is almost like a Tiger Roll kind of route - runs in the NH Chase and then goes for the National. He was very strongly fancied for the Thyestes Chase and finished eighth in that but definitely is a horse that needs serious consideration.
He is lightly raced over fences and has only had seven runs so he could be open to further improvement.
He is another who shows just what a strong hand Gordon Elliott has in the race as he bids to win the Grand National for a remarkable fourth time having been successful twice with Tiger Roll in 2018 and 2019 and landed first National with Silver Birch in 2007.
Strong Point - He is a very good stayer and seems versatile on ground.
Weak Spot - He has only won one chase in seven attempts but he has been highly tried.
She is a fantastic mare who looked to really enjoy it when winning the Becher Chase. Her jumping has always been her strong point and she seemed to relish the Aintree fences and she was clear from two out and may have got a bit lonely up in front.
She found enough under pressure to hold the late effort of Hill Sixteen and she really is as game as a pebble.
Snow Leopardess came through her warm-up run in a Listed Mares event at Exeter in February with the minimum of fuss when slamming Momella 12 lengths and has been freshened up since her last run. A 10-year-old, she is another who ticks all the right boxes.
She has already shown that she is a remarkable mare and it would be some achievement for trainer Charlie Longsdon if she could be the first mare to win the race since Nickel Coin in 1951.
Strong Point - She is a winner of the Becher Chase and took really well to the National fences.
Weak Spot - Does she really need soft ground to be seen at her best?
He was recently purchased by JP McManus, and this horse ran a super race in the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas when third to School Boy Hours after being badly hampered.
Enjoy D'Allen was giving 12lb to the winner on that occasion and was only beaten three lengths, and it is no surprise that JP snapped him up as he also owned the winner of the Paddy Power.
He is a strong stayer and they protected his mark by running him in a handicap hurdle before the weights came out. He ran an eye-catching race in that three-mile handicap hurdle at Leopardstown in February and was staying on well after the last.
This horse finished third in an Irish National last year when beaten only four and a half lengths by Freewheelin Dylan and was keeping on in a manner which suggests he could be even more effective over the trip at Aintree.
He is definitely a player and has been campaigned this season with this race firmly on the horizon. He is a horse who has only had 10 starts over fences, is definitely on the up, and has a lovely racing weight.
Strong Point - The fact that this has been the horse's target all season and his last two runs have been solid.
Weak Spot - Hasn't run over the National fences and you don't know how they will handle them until you do.
I saw this horse finish second to Cloudy Glen in the Ladbrokes Chase at Newbury in November and I immediately thought he would win the Grand National.
They have minded his rating since then and he comes here only 5lb higher than when second in the Ladbrokes. He was staying on really well at Newbury and I think the National trip will be ideal for him.
The only negative is that I was very disappointed with how he jumped and travelled when runner-up to Fortescue at Ascot in February. I thought he was a good thing at Ascot and it was only his class that got him as close at he was.
If he jumps like he did at Ascot he won't win but if he puts in a similar performance to the one he achieved at Newbury then he could win. I think this horse is handicapped to win and I thought after Newbury he had Grand National written all over him.
Strong Point - Good form as a novice last year and the way he stayed on in the Ladbrokes Chase would make him the perfect National candidate.
Weak Spot - If he jumps like he did at Ascot he will not win.
Minella Times won the race last year and was a very comfortable winner. You have to say, on what we saw last year that he really enjoyed jumping the Aintree fences.
He provided Rachael Blackmore with a slice of history when she became the first woman rider to win the Grand National and he will always be known for that.
This year has been disappointing for him but there are two things you have to remember - Henry de Bromhead's horses have been a little in and out all season and this horse's season has been geared towards this race. Minella Times is only a nine-year-old so you can't condemn him on two ordinary runs this term.
He fell in the John Durkan and then in a very competitive handicap chase he was pulled up when they went too fast a pace for him over what, again, was an inadequate trip.
It is going to be tough for him this year as he is 15lb higher than when he won the race which makes life difficult and throw in the fact that his season hasn't gone to plan.
What will be really interesting is whether Rachel Blackmore will ride him again. If she does then it's a good indicator to the horse's chances and plenty of people will back the horse if she is on him again.
Strong Point - He won the race last year and looked a natural.
Weak Spot - You're guessing a little on what he has done this season.
He is a winner of the Thystes Chase which is always a tough race to win and is 10lb higher for this race but I think that is fair on what he achieved. He is only an eight-year-old, is lightly-raced and I think he is definitely a player.
He's only had six races over fences and is open to further improvement, while his trainer Martin Brassil won the race in 2006 with Numbersixvalverde. I think his handicap mark is very workable and you couldn't write him out of calculations.
He had a run in the Boyne Hurdle, the race Tiger Roll used before winning the National, and it was after the weights were published so they obviously wanted to get a run into him.
He was a good hurdler and has shown a touch of class in the past, beating Monkfish in a bumper.
I would have no doubt about this lad staying the trip as he won the Thystes over three-miles-and-a-furlong on heavy ground and he looks sure to be in the thick of the action.
Strong Point - He is young, improving, unexposed over fences and looks well handicapped.
Weak spot - He is having only his seventh run over fences.
This horse will be aiming to add to a very impressive record over the National fences for Sam Waley-Cohen. He was won six times around Aintree and has the best record of any jockey riding.
He was very strongly fancied for the Ultima Handicap at Cheltenham with Sam riding him for the first time and you would have to say his performance was disappointing when finishing ninth to Corach Rambler.
His previous run in the Towton at Wetherby behind Ahoy Senor was much more eye-catching and the way he kept on so well there in the closing stages gave you every reason to think he could do well in the Ultima.
He is trained by a shrewd operator in Emmet Mullins, is ridden by a jockey who is mustard over these fences and will have been trained for this race all season.
He has won one of his seven races over fences and the last novice to win the race was Rule The World in 2016.
Strong Point - He is ridden by a jockey with a fantastic record over the National fences.
Weak Spot - Disappointed at Cheltenham and needs to bounce back.
He is another of Gordon Elliott's and ran a very good race when second in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham.
He was second to Fury Road in the Grade One Neville Hotels Chase over three miles at Leopardstown over Christmas and won the Troytown at Navan which is a really competitive handicap, plus he stays really well.
He was second in the Irish National last year and is another from a strong team that is definitely a player. He would be on my shortlist for rides as he will stay all day.
Strong Point - He is a very consistent performer and should have few problems with the trip.
Weak spot - I would love him to have 10lb less.
She was an easy winner from Cloudy Glen in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham in 2021 and that form was well advertised by the runner-up when he won the Ladbroke Handicap Chase at Newbury in November.
She has been campaigned over short trips this season but you know she stays and is a classy mare. She got lost in the Mares' Chase at Cheltenham last time, won by Elimay, but that was nowhere near her best as she had previously beaten the winner half-a-length in a Grade Three at Fairyhouse on New Year's Day.
She just wasn't herself at Cheltenham and we know she stays three-miles-and-two-furlongs so she could well be crying out for a return to further.
She is four from eight over fences and has an impressive strike rate so I think she is fairly handicapped on what she has done.
Strong Point - She won the Kim Muir at Cheltenham last year and has a solid record over fences.
Weak Spot - She has a tendency to jump a little right-handed and that is not ideal around Aintree.
