The Grand National

Well I will take a little break from sprint racing to talk about the great race. The first two days have been fantastic stuff although I thought the jockeys went very fast in the Topham and a repeat of that could see a few disasters in the National, lets hope they've got it out of their system. A fantastic price for Master Minded and who knows we could have a challenger for Long Run next season although I would like to see him try 3 miles first.
The crowds have been immense on the first 2 days with records being broken and the big day itself has been sold out all week except for hospitality.
Who is going to win then, the old methods have now gone out of the window and we are seeing a different type of race as it grows back to its past stature in the racing calendar with better and better horses taking part every year.
The going is going to play a key part as they will all be tanking along from the start and jumping will need to be accurate and precise. Being in the front half of the field may be an advantage as there could be carnage to avoid if your out the back and as usual there will be no shortage of hard luck stories.
Everyone has their own fancy and we all have concrete reasoning at to why our selection should be winning, but as we know there can only be one winner and that is why we strive every year to unlock this intricate puzzle that keeps us fascinated and balanced on the edge of our seats.
I have not put much study into the race this year but I like a horse that has big stamina reserves built in within its breeding and in that respect I have in recent years looked closely at the dosage of the runners and combined that with virgins to the race and a few other things besides. How can I say a virgin to the race when we have just seen Always Waining win for the 2nd time over the fences in the Topham and we have had the likes of Red Rum in the past. Well simply because the two circuits make the National a bit different to the other races over the course and most horses that run in the National remember what the race is about and unless they've genuinely loved it like Red Rum they never seem to perform well enough again to win on a second or third visit.
I have backed three horses this time around, although I wouldnt encourage you to follow my selections, unfortunately one of those Northern Alliance is a Non Runner, I have also chosen Grand Slam Hero on the above process and have added to that Majestic Concorde who is completely the opposite on dosage but is trained by Dermot Weld who in my opinion if he sets out to win a race you can be sure that no stone has been left unturned and the horse will go there with every chance.
So the romance and the mystery will envelope us from the moment we wake up and we will all be willing on our selections and hoping aganist hope that they get round the first circuit and be close enough to make a challenge come the home straight.
Good luck everyone !