Grand National Preview 09/04/16

One of the most famous races anywhere in the world takes place on Saturday and it looks sure to be a cracker. As is customary now, forty runners are due to compete in Saturday’s big race. This year’s renewal is full of star quality and looks to be a great renewal. Selection for this race goes to Holywell who is best priced with Coral at 16/1. I like his chances a lot and think he could go very close.

This horse is certainly one who reserves his best form for this time of year and the better the ground the better he is. He has run big races at previous spring festivals. He has previously won at both the Aintree and Cheltenham Festivals as well as a fourth in last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup. It is worth noting that last year’s Gold Cup was run on ground officially described as soft so he does still have the ability to show up in softer conditions. He is high class on his day and his jumping is normally very solid. This is always an important consideration for a Grand National. His run last time out should serve as a good prep run. He finished second in a very competitive race at the Cheltenham Festival. He carried top weight that day but will have no such worries this time with him only having to carry 10-12. This seems to put him on a very good mark if producing his best form.

Another serious contender is Silviniaco Conti. He can be backed at 12/1 with William Hill. He could be compared to Neptune Collonges, a former Paul Nicholls trained winner. Both were high class three milers and both sired by Dom Alco. Silviniaco Conti is a two-time King George VI Chase winner and is very high class. He also has some speed which is often needed in a Grand National. He won at Ascot over two miles and five furlongs last time out. This was against a good field and he simply destroyed them.

Within recent runnings of the Grand National there has been some very big priced winners and for that reason it could be worth looking past the obvious. Pendra could hold strong claims and is available at 100/1 with Coral.  He has only had two starts this season and looks to be on a mark which underestimates his abilities. He won a competitive handicap over three miles at Ascot earlier in the season and looks like he has a good chance of staying this marathon trip. He has never failed to jump round in all of his career starts and could outrun his huge odds. Get the best free bets for this weekend’s racing action here.