Blue Grand National Horses

Snow Leopardess jumped superbly to win the recent Becher Chase where she was a gutsy winner, hanging on by a nose from the fast-finishing Hill Sixteen. The winner is a grey mare who had a long period where she was out of training due to an injury and her owners used the time to put the mare in foal. Snow Leopardess must be the only mare to win over the national fences who is also a mum! Immediately after winning the Becher Chase bookmakers began quoting odds for the mare for the National itself but, at the time, trainer Charlie Longsdon reported that a return trip to Aintree was not a certainty. Longsdon suggested that Snow Leopardess’ owners were worried about the big field in the National for their valuable broodmare to be. In the interim, Snow Leopardess went to Exeter for a valuable mares’ chase and again underlined her current from when routing the field by twelve lengths. After the victory at Exeter, Longsdon suggested that the National was back on the agenda as coonections are now fully committed to Aintree being her big target.  Snow Leopardess goes into Aintree on the back of three consecutive wins, something that is something of a rarity in the Grand National. Since 1998 only six horses have lined-up with the same credentials ans, whilst none of them have won, two have finished second and one finished third. The mare's jumping is exceptional but there might be a question mark about her ability to see out the 4m 2f distance. She seemed to be running on empty at the end of the Becher Chase (run over one mile less) but the ground was very soft that day.  She has run over 3m 6f once when finishing fourth behind the likes of Galvin and Escaria Ten in the National Hunt Chase last year. That race is often a good trial for the Grand National and Snow Leopardess looks to have an excellent chance in the 2022 Grand National.

Escaria Ten managed to win a couple of times over hurdles but he was much more likely to prove his true level when contesting fences. The Gordon Elliott trained gelding was sired by Maresca Sorrento, who was also the sire of 2014 Grand National victor, Pineau De Re. Eacaria Ten was thrown in at the deep end for his debut over fences against Monkfish at Fairyhouse in November 2020 where he finished a respectable fifth. After that run, Elliott sent the gelding to a Beginners’ Chase at Thurles where his true potential started to show as he ran out a twenty-length winner that day. Two runs later he was at the Cheltenham Festival, running in the National Hunt Chase where he was backed into favouritism, finishing a gallant three-length third to Cheltenham Gold Cup prospect, Galvin. Gordon Elliott decided to send Escaria Ten to the Irish National after Cheltenham, but the gelding failed to give his true running and was eventually pulled up. Three-time Grand National winning trainer Elliott obviously thinks Escaria Ten is favourably handicapped as he decided to limit the gelding’s racecourse appearance to just one race before the publication of the weights for the Grand National. That run was in the 50k Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park and Escaria Ten made an eye-catching return to the track, pressing the leaders at the third last before his lack of race fitness caught up with him. After the publication of the Grand National weights, Elliott sent the gelding to Fairyhouse for the renowned Aintree trial, the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse. This time Escaria Ten obviously stripped much fitter and ran current Grand National favourite Any Second Now to a nose in receipt of eight pounds. Any Second Now will be one pound better off at Aintree but Escaria Ten could improve considerably for the increase in distance in the Grand National. After the Fairyhouse race, Escaria Ten was shortened considerably in the market for the Grand National and the eight-year-old gelding looks to have an excellent chance of providing Gordon Elliott with his fourth win in the race.

In 2006 Numbersixvalverde won the Thyestes Chase and then the Grand National for trainer Martin Brassil and now the County Kildare based trainer has another Aintree contender on his hands after Longhouse Poet recently took this year’s version of the Thyestes Chase. Longhouse Poet was good enough to defeat Monkfish in a Bumper and to contest Grade One hurdles as a novice, but it was always likely that the horse would show his true potential once he was sent over fences. Trainer Brassil took a softly softly approach with Longhouse Poet initially over the larger obstacles, running him over distances too short to play to this gelding’s strengths. Indeed, Longhouse Poet didn’t break his duck over fences until he was sent to Punchestown in December 2020 for a 3m 1f Beginners’ Chase. Longhouse Poet ran out a one and a half-length victor that day but in winning he had a subsequent Troytown Chase winner (Run Wild Fred) and a Punchestown Grand National Trial (The Big Dog) behind him that day in what was a very hot novice chase. Longhouse Poet’s season was brought to a premature end after that Punchestown victory, but he bounced back this season with the aforementioned win in the 50k Thyestes Chase. The eight-year-old gelding was then made favourite for the Grade Two Boyne Hurdle (the race often used by Tiger Roll as a Grand National prep race) but Longhouse Poet was disappointing finishing thirty lengths behind the eventual winner, Thedevilscoachman. It does appear that Longhouse Poet needs soft to heavy ground to produce his best form but both his sire and dam have decent stats when their progeny run on good or good to soft ground so perhaps we shouldn't get too fixated with ground conditions. Longhouse Poet looks the ideal candidate for the Grand National in that he is a young, progressive horse who has already proved his quality when winning a top handicap. He looks to be one of the horses with the most appealing profiles for Aintree.

Dingo Dollar has tended to be the bridesmaid rather than the bride in his career so far over fences with the highlight being his three-quarter of a length runner-up spot behind Mighty Thunder in last year’s Scottish National. Also on his CV of near misses are a third and a fifth placing in two Ladbrokes Chases, a third in a Rehearsal Chase, second in a Grimthorpe Chase and fifth place in a Skybet Chase. The ten-year-old gelding has won three races over fences but none of those was worth more than 7k, and only one of those three victories has come in the last four years. Now trained by Sandy Thomson, Dingo Dollar was originally trained by Alan King, for whom the gelding ran over the Grand National fences in the Grand Sefton two years ago. The 2m 5f distance of that race was all against Dingo Dollar and he was eventually pulled up. On the positive side of Dingo Dollar’s chance at Aintree is that he is proven over four miles and he is only racing here at three pounds higher than when running so well in the Scottish National. The gelding’s style of running is to attack from the front and that is usually the safest place to race from with such a large field. Dingo Dollar is to be ridden by Ryan Mania who has already tasted success in the Grand National having ridden Auroras Encore to victory in 2013. Overall Dingo Dollar has a decent each-way chance but a place looks more likely than recording the win.

Lucinda Russell has been in great form this season which resulted in Cheltenham Festival success with Corach Rambler in the Ultima and she has a good record when sending runners to the Grand National. Strong Resolve (2005) and Silver By Nature (2011) both completed and then she had success with One For Arthur in 2017 who returned in 2019 to finish sixth. That is four Grand National runners and all have completed, overall over the national fences since 2002 she has sent our eighteen runners and an impressive 78% of those have completed the race. Mighty Thunder had a memorable season last term which included a romp in the Edinburgh National where his nearest rival (Dino Boy) was some twenty lengths away and that result would have delighted his Scottish trainer and then the season ended with a career-best and another win which made his trainer happy when he landed the Scottish National just seeing off Dingo Dollar. The yard has been trying him at higher levels this season which hasn't exactly worked out, he was fourth in the Charlie Hall, pulled up in the Welsh National and when last seen he was trying to defend his Edinburgh National crown but failed to see out the race. After that race, it was reported that he had a respiratory issue which would explain a couple of tame efforts. However, as a result of those runs this season, his handicap mark is now 147, it started off at 151 and is now only 3lbs higher than his Scottish National success. He is one of few with proven stamina over four miles and with a reduced mark and if a recent wind opearation has sorted out his breathing issues then he has to be in with a shout here.