Aries Grand National Horses

Blaklion started the Grand National five years ago as the 8/1 favourite and his supporters looked likely to collect when he powered into the lead five fences from home. However, the petrol started to run out between the last two fences, and he was eventually overhauled by One For Arthur before eventually finishing a tired fourth. He lined up again in the National the following year but only made it over the first fence before being brought down by the fall of Perfect Candidate. Blaklion was purchased by Darren Yeats for 300k+ in the run-up to the 2019 Grand National but injury ruled him out of the race. Yeats originally sent him to be trained by Phil Kirby but then decided to switch the horse to Dan Skelton without Kirby ever getting him to the racecourse. After being off the course for over twenty months Blaklion eventually made it back to the track in October 2020 and the gelding finished a gallant sixth in last year's National, beaten over thirty-five lengths by Minella Times. That was a really good effort especially as he was the only British trained horse to finish in the top eleven places.  The handicapper continued to drop Blaklion's rating and when he hit 131 this brought about a change in form that resulted in two easy victories. Those two victories brought a fourteen-pound increase in Blaklion's rating meaning that he lines up in this year's National on 145 which is the same mark as last year's sixth-place finish. Realistically it is hard to see Blaklion doing any better than last year as he is now thirteen years old. Twenty-one horses of that age have attempted the Grand National since 1998 and just two have managed to finish in the places.  Undoubtedly Blaklion faces a tough task in the 2022 Grand National but his five races over the National fences will undoubtedly stand him in good stead and it's not impossible to see the old horse placing again.

Proven form at 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 four further occasions and also finishing third twice more. One of those third places though was in a red-hot version of the Ultima Chase at the Cheltenham Festival where Paul Nolan’s gelding lost out to The Conditional and Kildisart.  The following season Discorama was a well-fancied 16/1 shot for the 2021 Grand National but could only manage a well-beaten seventh place.  A worry for his Discorama's Aintree supporters this year could be his poor winning record which currently sits at just two victories from twenty-one career starts with those wins being achieved in a maiden hurdle and a small value novice chase. Discorama has been allocated just one pound less for the 2022 Grand National than for his forty-five length beating by Minella Times last year so, on those terms, it is difficult to see Discorama figuring any better this year.

The highlight of De Rasher Counter’s career so far is undoubtedly winning the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury three years ago. Unfortunately, the horse has been plagued by a tendon injury since running over hurdles in October 2020 and has only recently made it back to the course. Emma Lavelle’s ten-year-old gelding returned to action in the Denman Chase in February and ran, understandably, as if needing the run when finishing over thirty lengths behind winner Eldorado Allen in fourth place. Having one run after being off the track for over four hundred days is hardly ideal but connections have always seen this horse as a possible Grand National contender. Winners of the Ladbroke Trophy (or Hennessy Gold Cup, as it was) have traditionally gone on to do well in the Grand National with the likes of Suny Bay, State of Play and What’s up Boys all going on to be placed at Aintree and Many Clouds, who managed to win both races. De Rasher Counter undoubtedly has a touch of quality about him and has now been dropped to the same mark (149) that he won the Ladbrokes Trophy from. If the horse has retained the same level of form that saw him win at Newbury, then he would surely be a contender in the Grand National but it is always difficult to judge if a tendon injury will negatively affect ability. Surprisingly, Emma Lavelle has only had one previous runner in the Grand National (Court By Surprise who was Pulled Up in 2015) but her record is generally good in long-distance chases having won big races with the likes of Shotgun Paddy and, more recently, Éclair Surf.

Delta Work has leapt to the top of the market for the Grand National following his defeat at Cheltenham of stablemate and two-time Grand National winner Tiger Roll. That victory at Cheltenham was Delta Work’s first attempt at a Cross Country race, a discipline where experience of the unique obstacles is usually the key to success. Delta Work took to this new racing environment with aplomb, outbattling the mighty Tiger Roll for a hard-fought victory with over twenty lengths back to the third horse. The nine-year-old gelding was on a seven-race losing streak before that, which is most unusual for Delta Work, who has been a prolific winner at all levels. The Gordon Elliott trained gelding has been a star for his stable and is now a dual Cheltenham Festival winner after also taking the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle in 2018. Also on a star-studded CV are five Grade One victories, including the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown. Winners of the Cross Country race at the Cheltenham Festival have an excellent record when moving on to Aintree, with Tiger Roll winning both races and Cause of Causes and Balthazar King winning at Cheltenham and finishing second in the Grand National. When making a selection for the Grand National one of the main considerations is the effectiveness of the horse in question to cope with the possible ground conditions. Delta Work has recorded victories on good ground right through to heavy so it seems that whatever the underfoot conditions at Aintree he is unlikely to be inconvenienced. Delta Work will obviously need to prove he has the stamina for the 4m 2f distance at Aintree but his sire, Network, is already responsible for Saint Are who finished second in the Grand National in 2015 and third in 2017 so it could well be that Delta Work will thrive under this extreme test of stamina.

The two main highlights of Kildisart’s career so far are winning the big three-mile handicap chase on Grand National day in 2019 and finishing second in the Ultima Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2020. Since that race at Cheltenham, Kildisart has only made it to the track on three occasions and has been well beaten each time. It is surprising given his last three runs that the Ben Pauling gelding has been well backed for the Grand National. The confidence must stem from the fact that the ten-year-old has been given a handicap mark for Aintree of two pounds lower than that fine run at the Cheltenham Festival in 2020. Stamina for the National would have to be taken on trust with the furthest distance Kildisart has run over up to now being twenty-six furlongs. Kildisart has won on ground ranging from good all the way to soft but has struggled on heavy so would not want a mud-fest. This would be Gloucestershire based trainer Ben Pauling's first runner in the Grand National but the young trainer has already made a great impression with over ten winners in Graded races.

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. The following season much was expected of Cloth Cap, 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. Those defeats proved to be a blessing in disguise as connections now had a very well handicapped horse on their hands. The Ladbrokes Trophy was targeted and Cloth Cap did not disappoint registering a ten-length success in one of the most competitive handicap chases of the season. Given that the gelding’s owner was three-time Grand National winner Trevor Hemmings it was no surprise to learn that his new target would be the Grand National. Another victory followed in Cloth Cap’s prep race for Aintree and as that race was after the publication of the National weights it seemed that the Jonjo O’Neill trained gelding was well ahead of the mark he had been allocated for Aintree. The betting public latched on to this seemingly well handicapped, in-form runner and Cloth Cap went off the 11/2 favourite for the Grand National. Big-race jockey Tom Scudamore had the gelding up with the early pace, but Cloth Cap was headed for the lead after the eleventh fence and his challenge gradually weakened until he was pulled up before the third-last fence. Scudamore reported that the gelding had made a respiratory noise during the race and the horse was given surgery to correct his wind before the start of this season. The 2021/22 season has continued in a disappointing vein for Cloth Cap being well beaten on all his starts so far. Jonjo O'Neill treated Cloth Cap with a wind operation after his disappointment in the National last year and the trainer feels his charge now has an excellent chance in this year's Grand National.

Deise Aba must be having one of the unluckiest seasons on record having finished second three times by the distances of a neck, a nose, and a head! Those three defeats were all useful performances, but the gelding has now gone up ten pounds in the handicap without getting his head in front on the line. Deise Aba must race at Aintree from a mark of 145 which is the highest rating he has had in his career. One worrying aspect of Deise Aba’s record is that interspersed between some very good runs are a number of inexplicably bad ones. The nine-year-old gelding has pulled up four times in his last eight races so he certainly cannot be called dependable. Another issue for anyone thinking of backing him for the Grand National is that he reserves his best form for Sandown. His form at Sandown reads: 1122 and that course is right-handed in nature as opposed to the left-handed course at Aintree. Deise Aba has won running left-handed, but his absolute best efforts tend to be at right-handed Sandown. The gelding is trained by Philip Hobbs who has had twenty-seven runners and three placed horses (Balthazar King, What's Up Boys and Samlee) since 1998.  Deise Aba will run in the famous green and yellow colours of the late Trevor Hemmings who had won this race on three occasions: Hedgehunter (2005), Ballabriggs (2011) and Many Clouds (2015). Deise Aba does have strong form at twenty-nine furlongs (2nd in the London National at Sandown), and he looks one of the more likely candidates in the Grand National field to be suited by a stamina test like the Grand National, but his inconsistency makes him look like a risky bet.

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.

The Gordon Elliott trained mare won both of her two starts this season, a Listed Mares' Chase at Clonmel and then a Grade 3 Mares' Chase at Fairyhouse. Both of those wins were at around two and a half miles so Mount Ida is definitely versatile when it comes to distance. Last season’s highlight was undoubtedly the mare’s amazing win in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham where she initially appeared to be struggling when badly jumping the right and being pushed along at the back of the field after only half a dozen fences. The in-running punters pushed Mount Ida out to 999/1 but there were undoubtedly some disappointed traders as the mare shrugged off her early issues and stormed through to win the big race by over six lengths. Some pundits will suggest that Mount Ida was so well handicapped that day that she was able to get away with jumping out to the right so badly but she now finds herself on a much-increased handicap mark after that win.  Trainer Gordon Elliott did say that Mount Ida was found to have a back problem after her win at Cheltenham which has now been cured. Being able to win a race at the Cheltenham Festival whilst carrying a back injury makes her performance there even more memorable. The Kim Muir has a rich tradition of winners who go on to run well in the Grand National with 2010 Kim Muir winner Ballabriggs winning at Aintree the following year, 2012 Kim Muir winner Sunnyhillboy getting beat a short-head in the National the following month, 2016 Kim Muir winner Cause of Causes finishing second in the Grand National of 2017 and 2019 Kim Muir winner Any Second Now finishing an unlucky looking third at Aintree last year. Mount Ida has won two shorter distance races this season that were confined to mares only. She then went to the Cheltenham Festival to run in the Grade Two Mares' Chase and was sent off the 5/2 third favourite. Unfortunately, her tendency to jump to her right on a left-handed track came up again and ultimately she was very disappointing finishing well behind the winner, Elimay.  If we could believe that Mount Ida would not jump out to her right at Aintree she would be a very interesting runner but her proclivity to not jump straight makes her a very risky bet in the Grand National.

Two For Gold comes to the Grand National in excellent form having won over £125,000 this season alone. Kim Bailey’s gelding started his season with a hard-fought success at Doncaster and then took the new 80k chase at Lingfield where he saw off the likes of Dashel Drasher and Bristol De Mai. Bailey then decided to step up into Grade One company and pitched the horse into the Ascot Chase where, despite starting 25/1, he only found Fakir D’oudairies too good. That run at Ascot came after the publication of the Grand National weights and, as a result, Two For Gold gets to run here five pounds ‘well-in.’ The handicapper allocated him a mark of 154 for the National but he is now rated 159 after his second place at Ascot. Two For Gold’s current well-being cannot be questioned but all his form is at distances up to three miles which raises a question mark about his ability to stay the 4 miles and 2 furlong distance of the Grand National. The nine-year-old gelding has only attempted further than three miles once when he ran in the 3m 2f Ladbrokes Chase at Newbury where he was pulled up before two out. The other negative against Two For Gold’s case for winning the National is that he performed poorly when having his only previous race over the National fences. In the 2m 5f Topham last year he was badly outpaced before unseating his rider after the Canal Turn. That is the only time he has fallen or unseated his jockey in his career and is usually an excellent jumper. The question mark with regards to stamina can be offset slightly by the fact that his sire is Gold Well who also sired National Hunt Chase winner Galvin and recent Eider Chase winner Win My Wings. Trainer Bailey won the Grand National way back in 1990 with Mr Frisk and, more recently, had the runner-up in 2016, The Last Samuri. Two For Gold obviously comes with risks as far as his stamina and jumping around Aintree are concerned but he will undoubtedly appeal to many punters as a horse ahead of the handicapper and in excellent current form.

2005 was when the all-conquering Willie Mullins last won the Grand National with Hedgehunter but he has gone close in recent years with Pleasant Company who was runner-up in 2018, Rathvinden who was third in 2019 and then Burrows Saint who was fourth last year. Magic Of Light was runner-up in 2019 which showed that you cannot write off the mares in this race and this nine-year-old mare is a dual winner over fences from just fourteen starts. She has finished inside the first two on 50% of her starts over fences and over 50% for her whole career. The highlight of her career was when landing a Grade 3 mares chase at Fairyhouse last year, she and Moyhenna, a previous Grade 2 winner were well clear of the rest which was headed by Cabaret Queen, a runner who went on to finish ninth in last year's Grand National. Stamina would be her biggest concern, the furthest she has ever won over is just two miles and five furlongs, she is however a three-time runner-up over three miles or further and to her credit did complete the 2021 Irish National when finishing eleventh. She has won on ground varying from Good through to Heavy so is versatile when it comes to underfoot conditions. She is not in the greatest of form this season though snd has failed to finish in two of her four starts but was runner-up over three miles and two furlongs when last seen. The handicapper has given her a mark of 146 for the race, she has pulled up twice this season off 145 over in Ireland and her only handicap win to date came over hurdles off a mark of 111. The closest she has come over fences was off 134 when runner-up at Punchestown in the 2020 Grand National trial so this looks as though it could be a tough ask.

Venetia Williams is no stranger to national success having trained the longshot Mon Mome to success back in 2009, the 100/1 shot was a comfortable winner having finished tenth the season prior. Surprisingly, Venetia has not had a runner in the race since 2018 when both Houblon Des Obeaux and Tenor Nivernais both failed to finish having both finished the race a year earlier in 2017 and the yard does generally have an ok record over the National fences with a 49% completion rate. Commodore had a wind operation after last season which didn't go completely to plan, second and was only beaten half a length by Snow Leopardess at Haydock which was the highlight of the grey's season. It's been a quiet season for Commodore, in fact, we had to wait till December for his seasonal debut and he was back with a bang winning a Grade 3 handicap chase at Cheltenham with his closest rival some fifteen lengths away and that brought to an end a wait of twenty-one months for a win. The question is did he progress dramatically from a 9yo to 10yo, did he really appreciate the 300+ day break or did the wind operation work wonders, whatever it was it put him spot-on for that race which was over three miles and two furlongs on ground with some cut in it. The biggest negative for this runner would be having just that one run this season, that really does go against the trend, however, the way he won that day along with the fact he will only run off a mark 9lbs higher for this, you would be foolish to rule him out for a yard who has been in cracking form all season.