Grand National horses from England - South East

Nicky Henderson’s runners can usually be found very near the top of the market but not so with Mister Coffey who finds himself a fair way down the price list, probably due to his trainer’s very poor record in this race. Henderson has had two horses finish runner-up in the National - Zongalero in 1979 and The Tsarevich in 1987 - but since then it has been very lean pickings for the master of Seven Barrows. Since 1998 Henderson has had twenty-four runners in the Grand National with none of those horses making the top four. In fact, only five of those runners completed the course with the best finish being Liberthine who finished fifth in 2007.  So, due to Henderson’s awful record in this race, Mister Coffey may be unfairly overlooked. The horse has also been called some names as some pundits have questioned his resolution in a finish, something that does seem to be confirmed by his record of six second place finishes from fifteen attempts. Mister Coffey won three of his first four races but has failed to make the winners’ enclosure since then. The other side of the coin is that he has only failed to make the first four home twice in those fifteen runs so might appeal as an interesting each-way play or a place only bet.  The eight-year-old gelding does have some decent form having finished runner-up in last season’s Kim Muir at the Cheltenham Festival (usually a good trial for the National) and finishing second to the improving Guetapan Collonges in a decent race at Uttoxeter where the front two finished ten lengths in front of the rest of the field. Mister Coffey also finished third last month in the National Hunt Chase (another traditionally good trial for Aintree). Henderson also gave the gelding a spin over the National fences last season in the Topham where he went off the 5/1 favourite but trailed in a disappointing fifty-eight lengths behind the winner that day. No explanation could be found for that poor showing but the gelding had lost his front-right shoe.  Mister Coffey is a young horse with decent form in some good trial races for the National and has experience of completing the course in a race over the National fences. If the curse of Nicky Henderson’s runners in the National does not put you off he could be a decent each-way play at a reasonably big price.