Grand National day is here! Kevin Blake predicts his top four finishers for the famous Aintree race, plus two best bets elsewhere on the card.
Inevitably, everything will build to the big one, but there are a couple of races before it that I have selections in.
The first race that makes appeal is the William Hill Handicap Hurdle (13:20). There are some very progressive and obvious types up towards the top of the weights, but I’m venturing down to the opposite end of the racecard for a very unexposed one in the shape of the Jonjo & AJ O’Neill-trained KAKA’S COUSIN.
The six-year-old has looked a promising sort from the outset of his career, winning two of his four starts over hurdles. His most recent run in a very competitive novices’ handicap hurdle at Sandown was his most promising, with him shaping well for an awful long way. That experience should bring him on again, but the main changing variable that makes him of interest is the step up in trip here. It very much promises to suit him and with him having a very light weight, I could see him running very well at what appeals as being a fair price.
The William Hill Handicap Chase (14:30) is another highly-competitive handicap chase and could well see the Tom Lacey-trained CRUZ CONTROL gain his third consecutive win in the race.
He made all to win it off 136 in 2024 and showed his versatility by winning it under much quieter ride off a mark of 139 last year. That latter victory came after a 100-day absence and this year it looks like his connections are looking to repeat the dose by getting him here fresh.
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It’s nearly time for the big one – the Randox Grand National at Aintree. So, who wins? The Sky Sports Racing team have had their say!
Two moderate runs earlier in the season attracted a generous 3lb drop from the handicapper which leaves him just 1lb higher than he was when gaining his comfortable success in this last year. With Tom Lacey looking to have his team in particularly good form at the minute, he looks to have a very solid chance.
Where else can we finish but with the big one, the Randox Grand National (16:00). So much has changed with this great race over decades, but it remains one of the great sporting spectacles anywhere in the world. I went into much more detail on how the race changes have completely altered the profile of horse that wins the race in my At The Races column this week, so I won’t repeat it all again.
I’ve gone through each and every runner in video form on the At The Races YouTube but I’ll keep it concise here and give you my top four selections for the great race.
Kevin’s National 1-2-3-4
1 – Quai De Bourbon
2 – Monty’s Star
3 – Oscars Brother
4 – Captain Cody
