2019 Grand National Ante-Post Tips

Brian’s Two Against The Field	Rathvinden	12/1 HERE
	Vintage Clouds	14/1 HERE
Jon’s Three Against The Field	Vintage Clouds	14/1 HERE
	Rock The Kasbah	20/1 HERE
	Go Conquer	40/1 HERE

Brian’s 2019 Grand National Tips

Eleven-year olds won three consecutive renewals of the Grand National between 2012 and 2014, and it could prove significant that RATHVINDEN (12/1, William Hill) was kept out of trainer Willie Mullins’ Cheltenham Festival team to potentially spearhead the Closutton trainer’s assault on Aintree instead.

The Heron Island gelding might be an eleven-year old, but he remains a relatively lightly-raced horse for his age, and he could thrive for this longer test having seen off the challenge of Ms Parfois in last season’s National Hunt Chase.

He had been campaigning over shorter trips prior to that success, but he apeared to relish the marathon trip as he battled Anthony Honeyball’s charge to the line, prevailing by a half-length.

Fourth subsequently in the Growise Novices’ Chase behind The Storyteller at Punchestown, he wasn’t seen out again until readily beating Alpha Des Obeaux to win the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse.

Pleasant Company, who finished runner-up to Tiger Roll in last season’s Grand National had won the Bobbyjo Chase twelve months prior, and Rathvinden could be set to follow a similar path.

Initially allocated 10-10 from his 154 mark when the Grand National weights were announced, he is now rated 159 following that Bobbyjo Chase success, and he is another who looks weighted to post a big run.

Jon’s 2019 Grand National Tips

VINTAGE CLOUDS (14/1 William Hill) missed out on entering last year’s Grand National by a single place. The Trevor Hemmings-owned chaser may currently be sitting five places outside the top 40, but I’d be flabbergasted if he didn’t make the final cut and Sue Smith’s nine-year-old looks primed for a big run at Aintree.

Consistency is a wonderful quality for any staying chaser to possess and Vintage Clouds, although only winning twice over fences, has registered a hatful of impressive results. Smith’s charge placed in the Ultima at Cheltenham and the Welsh Grand National as a second-season novice last term, rounding off his campaign with another strong performance in the Scottish National at Ayr.

Victory on his reappearance back in November was followed by a second outing in the Welsh National, but an uncharacteristic mistake early on saw Vintage Clouds fail to finish the race. A decent break and a wind-op followed and Smith’s chaser returned with a bang at Cheltenham, finishing strongly to push Beware The Bear right to the line in the Ultima.

Vintage Clouds has strong form here at Aintree, claiming a maiden victory over fences by 18 lengths in October 2017. Smith’s nine-year-old has tons of National form in the book and looks extremely well-handicapped carrying just 10-4.

In 16 runs over fences, Vintage Clouds has finished outside the places on just four occasions. 14/1 remains an excellent each-way price.

Brian’s Day Two NAP

3:25pm JLT Chase (Registered As The Melling Chase) (Grade 1) 2m4f

Politologue and Min renew rivalry having finished 1-2 in this race twelve months ago; but while the ground may prove a shade quick for WAITING PATIENTLY (5/2, William Hill) it could be Ruth Jefferson’s star which shines brightest here with first-time cheekpieces applied.

The Flemensfirth gelding lost his unbeaten record over fences when he was brought down by the fall of Bristol De Mai in the King George VI Chase at Kempton; he subsequently travelled well for a long way at Ascot in the Ascot Chase behind Cyrname where he shaped as if he might have been in need of the run.

He didn’t have much of an answer to the bold-jumping front-runner in that contest, who kept up a strong gallop throughout and jumped with aplomb; but while well-beaten, he had Politologue two places behind him and having also beaten the same horse previously he could prove a tough nut to crack here if the ground doesn’t prove an inconvenience.

He should be much sharper now following that Ascot run which in essence was his first of the campaign following his early departure at Kempton, and we could see a different horse now to the one that was beaten last time.

Jon’s Day Two NAP

4:05pm Randox Health Topham Handicap Chase (Grade 3) 2m5f

Janika has finished second in three high-quality handicaps for Nicky Henderson this season and clearly has the class to cope with the Grand National obstacles. Top-weight hasn’t stopped Janika from challenging for victories so far this term, but only three horses have carried more than 11-00 to victory in the Topham since the turn of the Millennium, so it certainly pays to look towards the bottom half of the weights to find an each-way punt.Ultragold could bid to follow in the footsteps of Always Waining and claim a hat-trick of Topham titles and Colin Tizzard’s eleven-year-old shouldn’t be overlooked. Call It Magic jumped beautifully over these fearsome fences during the Becher earlier in the season and could be a big player should Ross O’Sullivan leave his nine-year-old in the running. While both hold significant appeal, BALLYHILL (12/1 William Hill) looks like he’s been laid out for a tilt at the Topham and Nigel Twiston-Davies’ chaser could be the best-handicapped runner in the field.

This reliable jumper has found a new level of consistency this term and a very taking triumph here at Aintree in December helped Ballyhill reach a career-high mark of 144. Since then, Twiston-Davies’ eight-year-old has finished third behind Aso and Siruh Du Lac in Grade Three Handicaps at Cheltenham. Ballyhill was then thrown in with Clan Des Obeaux in the Denman Chase and ran a decent enough race to pass the post third once again.

Twiston-Davies will have been pleased with that effort, as he had no real chance of challenging the King George winner and Ballyhill stuck to his task well. The team decided to skip an outing at the Cheltenham Festival in favour of an appearance at Aintree and, with just 10-6 on his back, Ballyhill returns to Merseyside with serious winning claims.READ: Jon’s tips for every race on day two at Aintree…

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Grand National Trends

No race captures the imagination of the general public year after year quite like the Grand National.

Run over a gruelling 4 miles and 514 yards, with 30 intimidating fences to jump, it provides a spectacle like no other, with around 40 runners each year bidding for glory. Trying to find the Grand National winner can feel like an impossible task. Thankfully, there are recurring trends which can help point us in the right direction.

Grand National Trends

AGE	The prime age for the Grand National is between 8 and 11
WEIGHT	Those weighted between 10-07 and 11-04 have a strong record
RATING	Between 143 and 153
COURSE FORM	Previous experience running at Aintree is important
DISTANCE FORM	Winning form over three miles is a must
SEASONAL FORM	Most National winners run at least 3 times during the season
CHELTENHAM EXPERIENCE	Good form at the Cheltenham Festival is a big plus
GRAND NATIONAL EXPERIENCE	Horses making their first start in the Grand National do best

The Grand National

The sporting universe will come to a standstill on Saturday afternoon, with the eyes of millions from around the world fixed on Aintree as the Merseyside venue hosts the Grand National.

Some of the horse racing’s greatest names have claimed victory in this most famous of races during its long, storied history and a high-quality army of challengers will be battling for the famous trophy in just over a weeks’ time.

This four-and-a-quarter-mile marathon is the most daunting punting puzzle on the calendar and finding the winner of Saturday’s race is almost as challenging as the National course itself.

Every year, horse racing fanatics spend hours on end ploughing through form figures and online forums, trying to get an edge on the layers. The bookmakers estimate that over £100 million will be gambled on the world’s most famous contest. So, if you’re fortunate enough to back the winner, you’ll earn legendary status with your friends and colleagues, along with a pocketful of profit!