It was the Grand National morning. I had time for a quick run before I got back and wrote the families bets out. The weather in Liverpool was perfect, the sun was out, a slight breeze, but a perfect day for anyone who was going to Aintree racecourse. I see a few racegoers when I was out on my run and was a bit jealous, to be honest. I am hoping to get back to a racecourse sometime in the near future, maybe Chester or even Ascot would great. If you read my last post on the National you will know my daughter wasn’t having a bet due to it being too cruel for the poor horses, but yes this soon changed once she started thinking about how much she could win and how many bars of soap she could buy from Lush! All bets wrote out, so I went to the local bookmakers (where most of the staff look like they are going to kill you if you dare to ask how to write a bet out) but of course, with me being on first name terms with them all, am safe from the deadly glare. It’s been a while since I actually sat and watched the build-up to the National on TV, but this year I did, and the Mrs and I even managed to do a lucky 15 each on the early races. The build-up on ITV was, in my opinion, brilliant, it had a bit of everything, an insight into the fancied runners, interviews with the jockeys, trainers and owners, and even had the legend Mat Chapman making a tit of himself dressed in a tiger costume and stuffing cupcakes down his gob. It was all great TV and kept us interested until the big race itself. Onto the big race and my bets. Well, first off my lucky 15 was full of near misses with all being placed (thanks sam for them tips), my four horses I picked for the National were Rathvinden, who ran a great race to finish third, then I picked Lake View Lad, who was my next door neighbours tip (won’t be asking him again) Jury Duty was my next who I put up on my blog and was running a great race until unseating at the 20th fence, and the last one which I got in the work sweepstake, Joe Farrell, who pulled up before 2 out. I have to admit once I seen Vintage Clouds fall and Up For Review brought down after the first my heart sunk, as I had a feeling it was bad and my daughters face dropped, and she said that’s the last time any of us could bet on horses again. Watching Tiger Roll (pictured) was like poetry in motion. The little horse popped over every fence like it was a hurdle, even though I didn’t bet on him, I was cheering him on all the way to the line. You could see how well he was going two fences out. What a magnificent horse he is and the nation has fallen in love with him like they did with the mighty Red Rum. Tiger Roll is the first horse to do back-to-back Grand Nationals since Red Rum done it himself in 1974. Some people may say the fences where a lot harder and bigger back then? Who gives a fuck, this horse will go down in history as one of the best, and good luck to him in the future. Thanks for reading, let me know how you got on, and look out for my next post.
Love it or hate it, it’s that time of year when the whole world tunes into the biggest race of the year, an estimated 600 million people watch the Grand National on TV while 150.000 people attend Aintree racecourse. Bookmakers predict 250 million will be spent on betting in this year's race (about a fiver off me) from the young to the old we all love a bet. I actually had a bit of a vote on Twitter this week because a few of my National Hunt follows couldn’t say a good word about the Grand National but the public spoke and it seems the race is as still loved as ever. Being from Liverpool and only a 20-minute drive away from the course you would have thought I would have attended more than once but as much as I love racing, sitting at home watching it with my family wins any day, being packed like sardines into the course is not my idea of fun. The Grand National has a maximum of 40 runners in the field so you have to pick 3 or 4 horses at least (or is that just my family). This year could be a different story in our house as my daughter is at that age where horse racing is cruel, and she’s boycotting it completely. I can imagine in years to come she will be protesting outside Aintree. Picking our donkeys is normally the same routine, the day before we get the local paper and while I study form the rest of the family pick colours or names they like, maybe I'm doing it wrong because I never seem to win, and they do. This year, I have actually looked at a few trends and found some interesting pointers. Over the past 4 years the winner was 8 or 9 years old so am definitely sticking to a horse under 10, two winners over the past 4 races were owned by Gigginstown House Stud, Tiger Roll (pictured) last year and 2016 winner Rule the World, Gordon Elliott has sent out a first, second and a third in the last 3 races, the last 3 races the winner has weighed under 11 stone the only one not to was favourite Many clouds back in 2015 who shouldered a huge 11 stone 9 to win. The last 3 races, the winner’s official rating has been between 148 and 150. What do we take from all that? Can Tiger Roll become the first horse to win back-to-back Grand Nationals since Red Rum in 1974? Well, he will have to do it carrying 11 stone 5 lb since Bristol De Mai has been taken out. No doubt Tiger Roll is a class act. If getting past the first circuit without any trouble could well do it again but the extra weight is playing on my mind and the short price is too. Conclusion: So my three horses this year are Mall Dini, the second who just makes the list is Jury Duty (official rating 151 but I will let that slide), and my wild card is Lake View Lad, who is off my wise old next door neighbour Dave. Let’s hope it’s a great race and all the horses come home safe.
