Grand National Ante-Post Tips: No Need For Suspicious Minds at Aintree

Yes, yes... we know your brain is consumed with all things Cheltenham Festival right now! But last week we saw a big day relating to the Grand National with the announcement of the weights and since that day Billy Grimshaw has been scouring the list looking for his idea of a value pick. Down at the bottom of the weights, he likes the chances of an Irish raider available at 50/1...

With the dust now settled on the weights ceremony held last week, the big winners in terms of shorteners for the Grand National seem to be two toward the bottom of the weights in Corach Rambler and Mr Incredible. The latter was spoken of with the most fondness of his whole Aintree squad by master trainer Willie Mullins and on the back of his fantastic Classic Chase second at Warwick (the massively impressive winner that day Iwilldoit is not qualified for Aintree) it is clear this sort of stamina test will play to his strengths.

Off just 10 stone 4 providing all of the top weights turn up, he looks just the type to relish the Grand National and as such saw his odds slashed from 33/1 into 16/1 after weights were published. Corach Rambler is another shortener, now 12/1 after being 25/1 prior to the weights' release, and it is easy to see why. Lucinda Russell of course won the race with One For Arthur back in 2017 and won the Ultima Handicap Chase with Corach Rambler last season. He looked almost tailed off in that contest but flew home with a wet sail to land the race snugly in the end.

He has shown no signs of changing his run style this season and although this comes with risks, if he can stay just about in touch around the National fences then he will be a massive threat to all those horses in front of him come the finishing furlongs. Off just 10 stone 6, he could very easily go off favourite on the day if confidently backed or if last year's winner Noble Yeats, allocated 11 stone 11, drifts. He is set to take in the Cheltenham Gold Cup before running here so it would be a monumental performance to go back to back.

Gaillard Du Mesnil shortened a fair bit off the back of the weights being released, and if winning well at Cheltenham is another who could be favourite come the day. He is respected along with a whole host of others who will be heading over from Ireland for the Aintree showpiece. Le Milos will aim to give Dan Skelton his first Grand National and isn't one to rule out, while one I almost tipped up here was Remastered, who barring Corach Rambler looks the best of British to my eye. David Pipe's strong travelling type will of course have to prove his liking for the fences, but he has run well in staying tests before and I can see him cruising through the race and coming with a late charge if he can get the necessary luck in-running.

I could put no one off backing Remastered now, and can see the case for taking the price on some of the more fancied runners like Corach Rambler, Mr Incredible and Gaillard Du Mesnil as they will be much shorter on the day. The one I have decided to place my faith in though is at present 50/1 (the same price Noble Yeats won the race at last year) and the horse is VELVET ELVIS. My admiration for this horse has been no secret, indeed he made my ten to follow before the jumps season kicked off, so his awful showings at the end of 2022 were certainly not welcome viewing.

He brushed those sloppy runs aside last time out though in some style, beating Minella Crooner fair and square over just shy of three miles at Navan. Now that rival is a certified boat in the Don Poli mold, but this was still a high class win from Tom Gibney's charge and the trainer seems happy he has got his star chaser back to his best. Still only seven, he ran well in the Irish Grand National of 2022 at the age of just six, which will stand him in good stead for this race, and I don’t think it was his stamina that cost him that day it was more a shuddering mistake he never recovered from. Now a year older and tenderly handled, a mark of 147 in my opinion seriously underestimates him and with his fantastic jumping technique I can't see the fences troubling him.

I was surprised to see such a lack of movement for him in the market after the weights were revealed and believe if this were a horse in Closutton or Cullentra, he would be at minimum half the price. His low profile connections could mean he stays a big price right up until race day, but I think at 50/1 he is worth an each-way play ante-post. If the price doesn't shorten as people cotton on to his chances, we can go in again with extra places available nearer the time!