Grand National tips – Ballabriggs could be the one to beat
The Donald McCain-trained runner has won five of his past six races and is strongly fancied to run a big race at Aintree
The 2011 Grand National is fast approaching, with the world’s most famous National Hunt race set to capture the public imagination. Forty runners and riders will aim to not only complete the four mile course but also aim to be first past the post.
Ballabriggs is many people’s idea of the 2011 Grand National winner and the horse has won races at Wincanton and Ayr this season before being narrowly beaten by Skippers Brig at Kelso.
Ladbrokes and Paddy Power both offer 14/1 about the ten-year-old beating the other 39 horses in the race and Ballabriggs’ whole season has been geared towards running and winning the 2011 Grand National.
Naturally, Grand National tips depend on the horse staying on its feet and avoiding trouble, something which is not guaranteed with so many high fences and forty runners.
The Midnight Club is currently the 10/1 favourite (bet365) to win the race and appears to be well handicapped for a big run on Saturday 9th April, with trainer Willie Mullins demonstrating at the Cheltenham Festival that his horses are in great nick.
Ruby Walsh is set to ride The Midnight Club in the big race and that could be enough to see the price shorten on the day, with the 10/1 currently available likely to disappear.
However, there is likely to be another popular selection in the form of What A Friend, a horse that is part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson. While many scousers will be looking to avoid backing a runner that is connected to Manchester United, several others will fancy the chances of a horse that ran into fourth place in the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
A good strategy with What A Friend could be to back the horse on betfair ahead of the 2011 Grand National with a view to closing out your position before the race. There is likely to be a big plunge on the horse and Victor Chandler have the runner as 3/1 favourite to go off as the race favourite.
Last year’s winner was Don’t Push It and it appears as though Tony McCoy will be riding the horse again in a bid to win the Grand National for a second occasion. However, the horse will be carrying more weight this time around and that could be a burden, even if the ground is good.
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