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.

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 run 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 trainer Charlie Longsdon reported that a return trip to Aintree is not a certainty. Longsdon suggested that Snow Leopardess’ owners are worried about the big field in the National for their valuable broodmare to be. She has also had two long breaks in her racing career caused by leg injuries so Snow Leopardess currently looks a risky ante-post bet for Aintree.

Mount Ida would be an intriguing candidate for the Grand National but at the time of writing there is some confusion as to where the mare will be aimed in March and April. The Gordon Elliott trained mare has won both of her starts so far this season and after the first of those wins at Clonmel in November assistant trainer Lisa O’Neill indicated that the Aintree Grand National was the target for the eight-year-old. However, after Mount Ida’s second win this season at Fairyhouse trainer Gordon Elliott suggested the Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham was the target for this season. To further muddy the waters, Mount Ida has also been given an entry in the Gold Cup! The latter of those possible targets seems an optimistic entry but if she were to show up at Cheltenham and/or Aintree, Mount Ida will definitely have her supporters. 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. Cheltenham is a left-handed track, and it could be telling that Mount Ida has only been asked to race right-handed since that win in the Kim Muir. 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. Let’s hope we do get to see Mount Ida at Aintree as she will be a fascinating contender.