Aries Grand National Horses

Proven form in an extreme stamina test has tended to be one of the characteristics of recent Grand National winners and one of the horses in this year’s field who ticks that box is Discorama.  It’s widely accepted that the 2019 version of the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival was one of the most attritional races of recent years and Discorama was still punching at the end of that race going down by just half a length to Le Breuil in a slow-motion finish. Since that agonising defeat Discorama has failed to get his head in front finishing second on three further occasions and also finishing third twice more. One of those third places though was in the red-hot version of last year’s Ultima Chase at the Cheltenham Festival where Paul Nolan’s gelding lost out to The Conditional and Kildisart. Discorama was reported as having his lost his right fore shoe during that race which makes his excellent effort even more impressive. One concern regarding Discorama’s Grand National credentials would be his most recent performance at Cheltenham in November where he finished a disappointing fifth of six runners over a 3m 3f distance that really should have suited him. A caveat to that performance is the Nolan stable was going through a very lean period of form at that time. Since then though Nolan's fortunes have bounced back with the stable recording a victory at the recent Cheltenham Festival. Another worry for the Grand National could be Discorama's winning record which currently sits at just two victories from eighteen career starts with those wins being achieved in a maiden hurdle and a small value novice chase. Discorama has been very well backed in the run up to the 2021 Grand National where he will definitely be a contender to seriously consider, probably from an each-way perspective.

Chris’s Dream has been really progressive in the previous two seasons winning twice in his novice chase year and then last season turning the prestigious Troytown Handicap Chase into a procession when taking that race by over nine lengths. The Henry De Bromhead trained gelding then went on to win a Grade Two chase over two and a half miles before running creditably in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. This season started well when Chris’s Dream went down by just a neck to The Storyteller in the Grade One Champion Chase at Down Royal but the eight-year-old’s two races since then have been disappointing. Firstly, he was well behind Min in the Grade One John Durkan at Punchestown and then was beaten very early in the Ryanair Chase after jumping badly. His jumping that day was all at sea and would obviously have to be much improved to tackle the big Aintree fences. Chris's Dream looks badly handicapped for the National being rated eighteen pounds higher than his last (impressive) win in a handicap.

Cloth Cap was rather a slow starter and didn’t record his first win until the sixth race of his career when taking a lowly handicap hurdle at Huntingdon. However, given that he is related to an Irish National winner in Niche Market, his true promise was likely to be only seen once he tackled fences and so it proved with two wins in his first three races over the larger obstacles. Those two victories were also fairly low key (a Class 4 at Stratford and a Class 3 at Catterick) but he then lined up in the Scottish National as a novice and ran an excellent race to finish third beaten just four lengths by Takingrisks. Considering that run at Ayr was just his fourth run over fences, much was then expected of Cloth Cap in the following season but his favoured sound surface was hardly to be found all year long and he suffered four defeats on ground that was much too soft.  This season began with a cobweb blowing outing at Cheltenham behind Frodon and that run obviously put him spot on for his next race. Connections were obviously confident that the best of the horse had yet to be seen as Cloth Cap was sent off the 9/1 fourth favourite for the Ladbroke Trophy, traditionally one of the most competitive handicaps of the season. Trainer Jonjo O’Neill had added first time cheekpieces to the gelding that day and that aid seemed to have the desired effect as the eight-year-old made all under a good ride from Tom Scudamore for an emphatic ten length victory. Given connections of a Grand National winning trainer and a three-time Grand National winning owner in Trevor Hemmings, it was no surprise to hear that Aintree was the new target for their horse after the win at Newbury. Cloth Cap further enhanced his Grand National credentials when bolting up again in his final prep run when taking the Premier Chase at Kelso by seven lengths. Any thoughts that the gelding might be given an easy race that day was quickly dispelled as Tom Scudamore attacked from the front from the drop of the tape. Cloth Cap jumped superbly and underlined the fact that he is considerably ahead of the mark of 148 he has been allotted for the Grand National. Bookmakers swiftly took evasive and cut the gelding to favourite for the big race. Cloth Cap's owner Trevor Hemmings drastically reduced his string of horses at the start of the season so the fact that this horse escaped a trip to the sales should have been seen as a tip in itself.  Given how well Cloth Cap jumped at Newbury and Kelso, he looks likely to be well suited to a test such as the Grand National.