Taurus Grand National Horses

Former Irish National winner Burrows Saint was sent off the 9/1 third-favourite for last year’s Grand National and each way punters were rewarded as the Willie Mullins’ trained gelding finished fourth behind Minella Times. Finishing fourth may seem like a positive result but with three fences to go Burrows Saint’s supporters must have felt they were in with an excellent chance of a winner as their horse looked to be full of running. However, in between the third and second-last jockey Patrick Mullins went from appearing to have a horse going really well to one that was desperate to make it to the finishing line. Burrows Saint had travelled beautifully and had jumped superbly but ultimately it appeared that the gelding’s petrol ran out with two fences to go, and he finished over twenty-five lengths behind the winner. The inability to properly see out the 4m 2f distance would have been a surprise as the horse had previously won the Irish National over 3m 5f and looked one of the more likely candidates to be suited by the extreme stamina test of the Aintree Grand National. Burrows Saint line up at Aintree again but it’s difficult to see where the extra stamina is going to come from if the nine-year-old is to improve on last year’s finishing position. Burrows Saint's season started in a pipe-opening hurdle race at Clonmel and he then ran former dual Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo to four lengths at Tramore on New Year’s Day. That run against Al Boum Photo must have been very encouraging for Burrows Saint's Grand National supporters but he took a step back on his next run when a forty-two lengths beaten favourite behind Any Second Now and Escaria Ten in the Bobbyjo at Fairyhouse. The handicapper has left Burrows Saint on the same handicap mark as last year's National and, given his inconsistent form this season, it's difficult to see Willie Mullins' gelding bettering last year's performance.

Any Second Now hails from the Ted Walsh yard, who won the Grand National in 2000 when Ted teamed up with his son Ruby to land the race with Papillon.  In last year's Grand National, Any Second Now was sent off the 15/2 second-favourite and ran really well to finish third, just over eight lengths behind the winner, Minella Times. That doesn't tell the whole story though as Any Second Now made a very bad mistake at the tenth fence where Mark Walsh did really well to stay in the saddle. Things get even worse two fences later when the horse makes a miraculous recovery after looking certain to be brought down. Even though the partnership did well to stay intact, they had lost a lot of ground going from a close-up fifth right back to the sixteenth place at the next fence. Mark Walsh took his time trying to get back into the race, but the partnership are still a distant ninth jumping the third last. The jockey managed to get Any Second Now right back into contention jumping the last, but he has had to use too much energy getting back into the race and finishes a tired third behind Minella Times. It's hard to be certain what would have happened had Any Second Now not nearly fallen at the tenth and nearly been brought down at the twelfth but they certainly can't have helped his chances. Before that race, there had been a question mark as regards the gelding’s stamina for the Grand National as in his previous victory he had shown enough speed to win a Grade Two over the minimum trip of two miles. However, the son of Oscar demonstrated that marathon distances are very much within his range at Aintree, especially as he was badly hampered by a faller at the twelfth fence. The handicapper has raised Any Second Now by seven pounds for his Aintree and he looks certain to be well supported as he tries to go two places better than last year.

The Philip Kirby trained gelding will be having his second attempt at the national fences and will be looking to make amends for last time after a heavy fall at the twelfth in the Becher Chase last year. He is now a four-time winner over fences, he won the Grade 3 Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby back in 2019 and when last seen over fences he was third in that same race at the end of 2021 behind Good Boy Bobby and Lord Du Mesnil. Wetherby does seem to be a track he enjoys, three of his four chase wins have now come there and Wetherby is quite different in design to Aintree so that may be a worry regarding his effectiveness in a Grand National. The fact that he has run well on the Mildmay course may go some way to negate those concerns. What might be more of a concern is that the ten-year-old has fallen five times in his career to date. Four of those falls were over hurdles though which he obviously wasn’t treatING with enough respect. He tends to jump with alacrity and exuberance over the larger obstacles and has so far only fallen when facing these fences in the already mentioned Becher Chase. He is given a 148 mark for this, it's the first time that he has dropped below 150 since back in 2019 with his only handicap success to date over fences, albeit he has only run in four, came off a mark of 154 back in 2019 so is six pounds better off in this race. Connections tend to switch between letting the horse attack from the front or holding him up for a late run but there can be no doubt he is more effective when pushing hard from the lead. If such tactics were adopted at Aintree, his bold jumping should be a sight to see.

Former Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Santini was recently moved to a new stable by his owners Mr and Mrs Kelvin-Hughes. The ten-year-old has left Nicky Henderson and is now back with Polly Gundry where the gelding originally began his career. Santini's first run for Gundry was in a handicap chase at Cheltenham in December where the gelding was quite well fancied but ultimately weakened late on to finish a well-beaten fourth behind Commodore. Just over a month later, Santini stepped out of handicap company to take in the Cotswold Chase, again at Cheltenham. This time he ran really well, finishing second Chantry House. Santini ran again in the Gold Cup this season finishing in a distant eighth place, over thirty lengths behind A Plus Tard. The handicapper has given Santini a chance in the Grand National, dropping him 6lb from his last start in a handicap. The extreme distance could be just what the gelding needs at this stage of his career but given that he has not won a race for over two years there must be a doubt about him handling a race as competitive as the Grand National.

Brahma Bull is a really likeable and consistent handicapper who always seems to give his all in his races. His one victory this season came way back on the 1st of May when he won a big three-mile handicap chase at the Punchestown Festival. He then went to the Galway Plate but found everything happening too quickly for him in that race. Normal service was resumed when the eleven-year-old finished second to Assemble in the Kerry National. Brahma Bull then ran Galvin to three lengths in receipt of eight pounds. Another excellent run followed when finishing third at 40/1 in the Ladbrokes Handicap Chase at Newbury and then running former Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo to seven lengths at Tramore in January. Brahma Bull's two subsequent runs (Pulled Up in the Thyestes at Gowran Park and Unseating his rider in his first attempt at Cross Country races at the Cheltenham Festival) are not up to his usual high level of performance but there are reasons those efforts can be forgiven. It appears that better ground suits this son of Presenting better as he has gotten older and the going at Gowran was very soft. The unseat at Cheltenham was understandable given it was his first attempt at that discipline, so he is likely to be much more at home on decent ground at Aintree. The four-mile two-furlong distance of the Grand National could prove an issue to Brahma Bull who has only had one completed attempt at marathon races when finishing over thirty lengths behind Freewheelin Dylan in last year's Irish National. Whilst the distance is a concern, Brahma Bull has proved his effectiveness from this sort of handicap mark, and he looks an outsider to keep on side with.

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.

Emmet Mullins didn’t hang around getting Noble Yeats over fences with the gelding having just five runs (one point to point, three bumpers and one run over hurdles) before winning his first start over fences as a six-year-old. Mullins obviously didn’t want to waste any time with the gelding’s chasing career as he sent him into a handicap on just his third start over fences. Noble Yeats finished 6th on that handicap debut and then was pushed straight into the 100k Paddy Power Handicap Chase at Leopardstown over Xmas. Considering his inexperience, Noble Yeats ran well to finish ninth behind School Boy Hours. A couple of runs later and Mullins decided to send his charge over to England to contest the Grade Two Towton Novice Chase at Wetherby. Again, Noble Yeats put in a good effort to finish second to Lucinda Russell’s progressive young chaser, Ahoy Senor. After the run at Wetherby, the gelding was purchased by Robert Waley-Cohen to be ridden by his son, Sam, in the Grand National. The Waley-Cohen’s have a terrific record over the Aintree fences having finished second and fourth with Oscar Time (who also won a Becher Chase) and also with the likes of Warne, Libertine and Rajdhani Express. Sam Waley-Cohen’s prowess over the Aintree fences will ensure Noble Yeats will be well backed in the National but for a young horse with so little racing experience, he looks more likely to be a major player next year and in the years to come rather than in 2022. Waley-Cohen has announced he will retire from race riding after the Grand national this year.

School Boy Hours only makes it into the big race due two of the owners other horses becoming non-runners within minutes of the final cut off point for reserves to be added to the race. Conspiracy theorists will no doubt suggest that the withdrawal of Easyland and Phoenix Way was done to facilitate School Boy Hours making the final field. School Boy Hours looks likely to be one of the leading players from the JP McManus owned battalion of runners based on his victory in one of the most competitive handicaps of the season, the Paddy Power at Leopardstown. Oddly, that win at Leopardstown was the Noel Meade trained gelding’s first win over fences and only the second win of his career. Despite the lack of wins, it would appear that the stable has always thought highly of this gelding who is a half-brother to the Grade One winning hurdler and chaser, Finian’s Oscar. School Boy Hours has already come up against the likes of Asterion Forlonge, Eklat De Rire and Latest Exhibition in his previous races so perhaps his lack of victories in novice chases was understandable. The handicapper reacted to the gelding’s win in the 100k race at Leopardstown by raising him nine pounds which looks fair given the quality of the opposition he beat that day. School Boy Hours’ ability to see out the marathon distance of the Grand National must be taken on trust as three miles is the furthest distance he has raced over at the moment. He is, though, a son of Presenting who has sired a high number of marathon chase winners including Ballabriggs in the Grand National. A possible question mark about School Boy Hours is the fact that he has fallen three times (twice over hurdles and once over fences) in a relatively short career. His jumping seemed fine at Leopardstown but it is unusual for a horse with such a high falls to races ratio to go on and win a race such as the Grand National. School Boy Hours' jumping let him down on his latest start at Cheltenham where a bad mistake at the fourth last fence led to him being pulled up. Another query on his Aintree chances could be the record of horses who have previously won the Paddy Power at Leopardstown. Of the last ten winners of that race, only one has gone on to win any further race (so far) in their careers. That statistic is, perhaps, just an anomaly but it could also indicate that such a competitive race may take much more out of the winner than we might imagine. To contrast that statistic, three winners of the race at Leopardstown have gone on to be placed in the Aintree Grand National - Anibale Fly, Oscar Time and Black Apalachi. Finally, trainer Noel Meade has had eight runners in the Aintree Grand National and has yet to have a horse placed. Only three of Meade’s runners have actually completed the course so perhaps School Boy Hours is a runner to treat with caution.

Death Duty is a multiple race winner, including Grade One victories as a novice over hurdles and fences.  The gelding’s career was interrupted by a hind joint injury in 2017 which saw him off the track for over two years. On returning to the track in November 2020 the Gordon Elliott gelding appeared to have lost the form that had seen him win nine of his then fourteen races.  Eight consecutive defeats ensued which resulted in the eleven-year-old becoming very well handicapped. Death Duty finally took advantage of this drop down the weights to win the 3m 4f 45k Grand National trial at Punchestown.  Death Duty is now set to line up at Aintree and, whilst a six-pound rise back up the handicap for his Punchestown win may seem severe for a horse of his age, he must have a decent chance. Death Duty is now rated 144 but at his best, he was rated as high as 159 so, on those figures, he would definitely have a feasible chance of winning the 2022 Grand National.

This season, and particularly his last two runs, have seen a marked increase in form from Éclair Surf, starting with his demolition of a quality field in the 3m 5f Classic Handicap Chase at Warwick. The horse in second that day, Gericault Roque, went on to finish second at the Cheltenham Festival in the Ultima Handicap Chase. The handicapper raised the gelding ten pounds for that Warwick win, but it did not stop him running a superb race in the 4m 1f Eider Chase at Newcastle where he finished a gallant one and a half lengths second to Win My Wings. The winner that day has gone to frank the form by winning the Scottish National very easily. The handicapper reacted again Éclair Surf’s Eider performance by adding another four pounds to the gelding’s handicap rating putting him up to 147 but as his mark for Aintree had already been published, he can effectively run at Aintree four-pound ‘well-in’ from a mark of 143. The only concern for Éclair Surf would appear to be the ground. Lavelle originally said Éclair Surf would only run at Aintree if the ground was soft but appears to have a change of heart after the run at Newcastle where he ran so well on good to soft ground. With his proven stamina at extreme distances, Éclair Surf is a fascinating contender for the Grand National.

Good Boy Bobby comes from the Nigel Twiston-Davies yard who are dual winners of the Grand National. They first tasted success back in 1998 when Earth Summit was an eleven length winner beating Suny Bay and then four years later it was more success after a battling performance from Bindaree landed a second Grand National for the yard. This nine-year-old Good Boy Bobby started off his career by winning three of his four starts in bumpers before going on to land a fourth race on his hurdling debut. Like in bumpers, he went on to win three of his first four starts over hurdles which meant his career started off with an impressive six wins from eight races. For the start of the 2019-20 season, he was switched to fences and despite being beaten a head, there were plenty of positives to take out of the race, future form being one of those, he had Midnight Shadow sixteen lengths behind in third who won the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham in 2021 and a further four lengths back in fourth was Global Citizen, a runner who went on to win the 2022 Grand Annual at the Cheltenham Festival. He followed up on that promise next time out and opened his chasing account at the second time of asking, his first real test over fences came next in a Class 2 Novices' Chase where he found Mister Fisher too good, however, that runner went on to win the Grade 2 Lightning Novices' Chase next time out and also another two more Grade 2 chases since including the Peterborough Chase so again, far from disgraced. He found the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices' Chase a step too far before having an average 2020-21 season which saw only one win from eight starts during which he was reverted back over hurdles in an attempt to get some confidence back into him. This season he seems to be back in the right mood, he has been upped in trip this season which really does seem to have worked in his favour as the stamina seems to be there. He won on seasonal debut and then was only beaten by a head in the Rehearsal Chase by Aye Right, a runner who went on to run in the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup! He then won the Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby on Boxing Day and he had some proper stamina runners in behind that day with the likes of Lord Du Mesnil, Top Ville Ben and Lake View Lad. When last seen he was given an almost impossible task of running off top weight off 11-12 in the Coral Trophy and the fact that he still finished seventh was a credit to him. He has risen from 138 to his mark of 150 for the Grand National since the start of this season but that shows how much he has taken to the longer trips this season which should bode well for this race.

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.

This nine-year-old gelding from Sean Curran's stable has a bit of form over the national fences having finished fourth in the Becher Chase back in 2021, a race that was won by Snow Leopardess. He was towards the rear that day and his jumping was pretty solid bar one or two jumps and despite looking like he was struggling to go with them at the halfway point, he did plug on to pick off those weakening although never near the winner. He had a big test of his stamina when last seen in the Eider Chase, a race run over four miles, one and a half furlongs, the race was similar to the Becher and his style of running, he was held up towards the rear and made some late headway to finish tenth but he was some way off the leading runners, the race was won by Win My Wings. That was just under a mile further than he had ever been, he has won over three miles and two furlongs at Cheltenham off a handicap mark of 144, which is the very same mark as what he has been given for this race, it did rise to 149 but the handicapper eased it after a couple of races. From a ground perspective, it would seem he handles a variety, he won on heavy ground at Ascot, and he is a dual winner on soft ground and is a four-time winner on good ground too so it would appear the ground is not much of a concern for him. As already mentioned, he is certainly a hold-up horse, whether that tactic will be altered for the grand national is something only the owner & trainer know, that sort of tactic would put a few people off in this type of race as it is very easy to run into trouble and there are not many that come from the rear to win, can it be done? Yes, of course, One For Arthur in 2017 is one example but you need luck in running and you need a brisk pace to be set, a lot of factors he would need in his favour.

The Grand National is not a race that Henry Daly usually targets with any of his runners, in fact, the last time we saw a runner in the Grand National from him was back in 2007 when Billyvoddan pulled up. Fortescue was what is called a 'Slow Starter' to his racing career after getting beat by seventy-one lengths on his debut and he failed to win any of his three bumper starts, the closest he came was when third at Uttoxeter. He was switched to hurdles on his fourth start but failed to see out the race and pulled up, he was then beaten fifty-six, eleven and nine lengths on his next three starts over hurdles, twice sent off at 100/1 as he struggled to find a maiden win. For the 2019-20 season, the decision was made to switch him to fences and that along with previous racecourse experience seemed to work the trick as he won on his chasing debut at Southwell and although beaten on his second start, the runner who beat him (Lamanver Pippin) went on to finish third in the Challenge Cup at the Cheltenham Festival next time out so not a bad effort. He won a couple more novice handicap chases in 2020 off marks of 117 & 121, his first victory came off 112 and then in 2021 he recorded two more successes over fences off marks of 128 & 134. When last seen he was beating Fiddlerontheroof to win a valuable chase at Ascot off a mark of 143, which was his sixth success over fences and off a mark 31lbs higher than his handicap debut which shows have much he has progressed the last couple of seasons. His third in the Peter Marsh two starts back reads well, the winner, Royale Pagaille, went on to finish fifth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. All six wins over fences have been over three miles and on testing ground, either soft or heavy so he has the stamina and he is 4lbs well in as he is due to go up to 147 following his Ascot success but gets to run off the same mark of 143 here.

Lostintransaltion has spent most of his career up to now taking on the very best and has won two races at Grade One level (the Mildmay Novices Chase at Aintree and the Betfair Chase) and has finished placed in a Gold Cup. The Colin Tizzard gelding has obviously suffered from issues with his breathing in recent seasons and has had three wind operations since December 2019. The latest wind operation was in August 2021 and Lostintranslation made it back to the winner's enclosure on his first run back after surgery when taking the Grade Two 1965 Chase at Ascot. Unfortunately, his three runs since then have been mediocre culminating last month in his first-ever run in a handicap when finishing eighth in the Ultima Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. The handicapper decided to drop the gelding to a mark of 150 after that race but, unfortunately for the horse's connections, he was rated at 157 when the weights were released for the National so he is effectively seven pounds worse off in the National than he would be in any other handicap. Assistant trainer Joe Tizzard has been quoted as saying that Lostintranslation has become ' a bit hit and miss at the moment' and he also went on to say that he probably needs good ground to show his best as he has gotten older. With the question marks about his breathing, his in and out form and having to race seven pounds higher than he is rated in the National, Lostintranslation seems to have a lot going against him at Aintree.