Vanillier and Cocooner are sweet duo for National Glory
FOR 10 minutes on Saturday afternoon millions across the nation will stop to tune into the world’s most famous race, the Grand National (4.00pm).
This is the time that nearly 20 percent of the British public have a flutter, and it is one of the increasingly few opportunities for racing to elevate itself from the back pages to the front.
Last year the most recent raft of changes to the race saw the field reduced to 34 runners from 40, but it still remains a unique and stirring spectacle.
Defending champion I Am Maximus returns and is bidding to emulate recent two-time winner Tiger Roll.
That was a challenge that proved too much for 2023 winner Corach Rambler, who unseated at the first fence last year, underlining that the National is still a race where a healthy slice of good fortune is needed.
I Am Maximus lines up this year eight pounds above the mark he won off and his two runs this season have been uninspiring, so I’ve a feeling this could be a bridge too far.
Momentum in the betting has gathered behind several horses in the last week.
Shark Hanlon’s bullish comments about his runner Hewick has seen his price crash, while recent Cheltenham Cross Country winner Stumptown has shortened into favourite with official Grand National meeting betting partners William Hill.
Hewick in particular has plenty of class and the drying ground conditions should suit him, so it could be another great chapter in the story of a horse that was bought for just €850 if he could land the £1million race.
He looks too short for me to be a bet though, and similar comments apply to Gavin Cromwell’s Stumptown.
In fact, it’s another of Cromwell’s contenders that I like in VANILLIER, who I put up in my ante-post column a few weeks ago at 16/1.
This 10-year-old is already a National veteran having had two spins over the big fences previously, when finishing second behind Corach Rambler in 2023 and then getting round in 14th last year.
He arrives here in good form after a win over the banks at Punchestown and then when third behind Stumptown at Cheltenham.
He’s also four pounds lower than last season off a mark of 147 and everything looks set up for another fine round in the National.
In the current dry spell, ground staff are sure to be applying plenty of water to the track, so while the going should be good come Saturday, it’s unlikely to be really quick.
That bit of extra juice in the ground will help BEAUPORT, another of my ante-post picks.
The Nigel Twiston-Davies yard know how to train a National winner, having won the race twice, with Earth Summit in 1998 and then with Bindaree four years later.
Beauport was a good winner of the Midlands National last year, so we know he has the stamina for this, and while he’s much higher in the handicap here, I can see him running a good race.
Now we have more of an idea of the likely National field, I’m keen to add Willie Mullins’ MINELLA COCOONER as a third selection in the race.
This nine-year-old is a Grade One winner over hurdles, so has plenty of back-class, and won last season’s bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown over a marathon trip over fences.
He’s been mainly campaigned in Grade One company this season, running behind the likes of Fact To File and Galopin Des Champs before producing an eye-catching effort when third in the Bobbyjo behind Nick Rockett and long-term National fancy Intense Raffles.
Considering that rival is a good bit shorter, the 16/1 available about Minella Cocooner looks worth taking.
POINTERS SATURDAY
Minella Cocooner e/w 4.00pm Aintree
Already Advised
Vanillier e/w 16/1 4.00pm Aintree
Beauport e/w 40/1 4.00pm Aintree