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| Aintree Grand National 2011 |
Latest Grand National News
05/04/11
The John Smith’s Grand National takes place this Saturday at Aintree and the World’s most famous steeplechase remains the biggest event in UK racing.
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With this in mind the race remains one of the most coveted prizes in the sport and the top racing stars are determined to try their best to challenge for honours. It is certainly worth checking out the full list of 2011 grand national horses to get a full idea on where to bet.
Last year we finally saw multiple National Hunt Champion Jockey Tony McCoy finally break his duck after fourteen unsuccessful attempts and perhaps this year will be Paul Nicholls’ turn.
The Ditcheat based trainer considers What A Friend, part owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, as his best chance of capturing a victory but also has The Tother One, Niche Market and Ornais running for him in the race.
With Nicky Henderson training the winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Long Run, Nicholls will be trying even harder than ever to claim the Aintree crown.
Meanwhile, course officials will have to wait until much closer to the off before they decide whether or not to water the course. The ideal ground conditions are good to soft, which allows a good quality contest whilst providing some protection for a large field jumping over the huge Aintree fences.
With this in mind the weather forecasts are being very carefully watched and a day of drizzle throughout Monday meant that the Grand National course was considered to be in ideal condition. Similar weather is expected throughout Wednesday with about two millimetres of rain expected and then the end of the week is predicted to be dry.
Any deterioration in the conditions will certainly impact runners and will have an effect on the betting markets.
