Horseracing latest: Grand National preview

April 04, 2008 - Ashley Wishaw

Cloudy Lane will start as favourite for the Grand National

Cloudy Lane will start as favourite (Credit: dieter.reyntjens)

Australians claim that the Melbourne Cup is the "race that stops a nation", but the Grand National at Aintree can probably claim to be a race that stops the world.

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The famous 4m 4f marathon is a unique steeplechase and one that sets British hearts racing. Most punters will have several fancies, and the person not involved in the office sweepstake is a rare one.

The favourite is clearly Cloudy Lane, who has won his last three starts. All three of those were over 3m, which shows that in theory that the eight-year-old has a better chance than most of staying the marathon trip. Cloudy Lane is also trained by the son of legendary handler Ginger McCain, who persuaded Red Rum to win three times and also scored with Amberleigh House in 2004.

Looking at previous winners will direct punters in the right direction, as no horse in the last ten years has won carrying over 11st 1lbs, which would rule out the top 14 in the weights, including 2005's winner Hedgehunter. Cloudy Lane carries just 10st 13lbs and looks a solid favourite.

Numerous tipsters have gone for Comply or Die after he ran the 18-runner Eider Chase field into the ground in February. It was a scintillating performance and one which showed that he clearly stays after lasting home over the 4m 1f course. At 11/1 there are worse bets. Slim Pickings has an excellent pedigree for such a race after finishing a fine third to Silver Birch last year. The nine-year old's handicap has been kept down with some appearances over hurdles this season and at 12/1 with Partybets he looks each-way value.

In such a contest it is difficult to pin down exactly what makes a National winner and horses such as Mr Pointment were touted earlier in the season. Paul Nicholls's runner traded at as short as 11.5 earlier this season, and yet now you can get over 30 on the exchange. This could be reflective of the dreadful record that the champion trainer has in the race (he has yet to win it in what seems countless attempts) and Turko and Cornish Sett may be the big drifters in the market in the hours ahead of the big race.

Others to consider may be David Pipe's Joaaci, who has won over 3m on five occasions, which shows he stays, Francois Doumen's classy Kelami, who has a fighting weight for once, and Point Barrow, the mount of Tony Dobbin who has just announced his retirement. A victory for Dobbin would provide a fairytale end to the great jockey's career, and never underestimate the power of the National to create such headlines...

Verdict: 1pt each-way Slim Pickings @ 12/1; 1pt win Joaaci @ 129/1

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Runners and Riders

1 HEDGEHUNTER Ruby Walsh
2 HI CLOY Tom Doyle
3 KNOWHERE Joe Tizzard
4 MR POINTMENT Sam Thomas
5 TURKO Richard Johnson
6 MADISON DU BERLAIS Tom Scudamore
7 SIMON Dominic Elsworth
8 ARDAGHEY David England
9 IRON MAN Christian Williams
10 FUNDAMENTALIST Paddy Brennan
11 BUTLER'S CABIN Tony McCoy
12 SLIM PICKINGS Barry Geraghty
13 CHELSEA HARBOUR Davy Russell
14 VODKA BLEU Paul Moloney
15 L'AMI Mick Fitzgerald
16 SNOWY MORNING David Casey
17 BEWLEYS BERRY Denis O'Regan
18 CONTRABAND Keith Mercer
19 MCKELVEY Tom O'Brien
20 JOAACI Johnny Farrelly
21 POINT BARROW Tony Dobbin
22 D'ARGENT Robert Thornton
23 NO FULL Shay Barry
24 BAILY BREEZE Paddy Flood
25 BOB HALLNoel Fehily
26 CLOUDY LANE Jason Maguire
27 KING JOHNS CASTLE Paul Carberry
28 MON MOME Aidan Coleman
29 CORNISH SETT Mr Nick Scholfield
30 NAUNTON BROOK Andrew Tinkler
31 TUMBLING DICE Tom Ryan
32 BACKBEAT Wilson Renwick
33 COMPLY OR DIE Timmy Murphy
34 IDLE TALK Brian Harding
35 KELAMI Barry Keniry
36 MILAN DEUX MILLE Tom Malone
37 NADOVER Robbie Power
38 BLACK APALACHI Andrew McNamara
39 PHILSON RUN Daryl Jacob
40 DUN DOIRE Richard McGrath