Tidal Bay Headed for Grand National

The John Smith’s Grand National could very well see more than one Cheltenham Gold Cup contender as What A Friend looks set to be joined by Tidal Bay in the Aintree showpiece on April 9. The sixth place finisher at Cheltenham, Tidal Bay is set for his first run in the National though it certainly won’t be his first spin over the Aintree surface.

High profile scores at Aintree were common for Tidal Bay back when he was bossing the hurdles circuit in the middle part of the last decade. His first graded score came at the Merseyside racecourse back in 2007 when he topped Wins Now to take a Grade 2 Novice Hurdle contest at the end of his debut season. He added the John Smith’s Maghull Novices’ Chase to his credit during his first season over timber.

Conditioner Howard Johnson was bullish about Tidal Bay’s prospects asserting that he had “come out of Cheltenham grand… He doesn’t over-exert himself and is bouncing and there is nothing else to go for.”

The latest move from Tidal Bay’s connections has seen his price for the national begin to settle around 33/1.

In 2010, Tidal Bay ran a disappointing fourth to Big Buck’s in the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle at the Grand National meet though punters had been lukewarm sending him off at a 15/2 price tag.

Despite obviously never having been tested at 4m4f, Tidal Bay will certainly be a popular fancy should be make the final declarations.