2018 Irish Grand National Preview PT 2

Pairofbrowneyes was able to get his first victory after being moved over to Willy Mullins yard early in the new year when he captured the National Chase at Gowran Park - defeating a tough field of about 15 contenders to earn plenty of plaudits. Prior to that he had been competing in good races but had been achieving relatively indifferent results.

You can expect this pair to be battling it out down the stretch and there is every single chance that a Willy Mullins 1-2 could be in the offing here so be sure to keep that in mind.

Gordon Elliott will be saddling Folsom Blue for a run here and he comes in as one of the next fancies though his price is a bit longer than what you’ll find on the other two leading contenders. He is coming in fresh off a victory in a Grade B handicap chase and this will likely be the trickiest race that he has attempted up to this point but he remains firmly in the mix due to his ability to handle both the course and the distance effectively .

Perhaps the most interesting story in the race is the presence of Patrick Kelly’s Cheltenham runner Mall Dini - who is being turned around quickly here after putting in a second place finish in the Kim Muir Amateur Riders championship just a few weeks ago. He’s certainly in the mix here and will probably be taking a bit more money this time around.

There are a few other interesting options in here as well with the likes of Monbeg Notorious and Our Duke both looming large in the betting mix here as the punters continue to sort through the deep ante post market. Another outside option here appears to be Acapella Bourgeois who comes in as a solid each-way fancy and is certainly capable of hitting the board.