The Grand National: A look at the long shots
Saturday, February 8th, 2014
Although the Grand National is one of the most anticipated races of the year, it is not without its controversies. It’s a tough race, and in 2011, almost half of the horses were unable to complete it. Campaigners feel that the course is too long and several horses have fallen along the way in past events. However, for many racing fans it is still the highlight of the racing calendar and always throws up a few surprises.
In 2013, Auroras Encore, an 11-year-old jockeyed by Ryan Mania came in first. With odds of 66-1, that victory never looked likely and Oscar Tim, another horse with odds of 66-1 came fourth. None of the favourites for last year faired that well at Aintree.
At the 2012 Grand National, there was another long shot that took the title. The Paul Nicholls’ trained Neptune Collonges, which was jockeyed by Daryl Jacob, was given a pretty slim chance of winning the National. However, he won in a photo finish and managed to give trainer Paul Nicholls his first Grand National winner.
2011 saw Ballabriggs romp home to victory – and at 14-1 Ballabriggs was another horse not considered a favourite to win.
2010 gave jockey Tony McCoy his first Grand National victory after 15 attempts at competing. The winning horse, Don’t Push It, was a 10-1 joint favourite for that year and gave trainer Jonjo O’Neill another winner to add to his list.
We’ve still to see what 2014 has in store, but the runners have already been named and bets are already being taken. Detailed below are some of the runners for the Grand National 2014.
Ones to watch:
Sunnyhillboy
Trained by Jonjo O’Neill, Sunnyhillboy narrowly missed out on a win at the Grand National in 2012. Sunnyhillboy has already proved he can stay the course, but can he win the Grand National in 2014? The odds are currently quite long but he is still in with a chance.
Seabass
Seabass has come close to victory in the Grand National before, coming third in 2012. However, he put in a less-than-impressive show in 2013 and didn’t finish in the final ten. Seabass hasn’t been given great odds of winning the 2014 Grand National, but he is still one to look out for.
Tea for Three
Tea for Three is trained by Rebecca Curtis and like Seabass, has come close to winning, but not close enough. Tea for Three came in third in 2013 and is likely to be one of the favourites on Grand National Day.
Rocky Creek
Rocky Creek is just one of a number of horses from trainer Paul Nicholls that is lined up for the Grand National. Rocky Creek is on good form at the moment and came second in the Hennessey Cup.
Betting
Odds are likely to alter as the Grand National draws closer, however, some bookmakers already have special offers on long shots and if recent results are anything to go by, that may be the way to go when it comes to laying bets for this year’s Grand National.
Grand National Day will be held on Saturday, 5th April, 2014. Of course we have a sweep you can play for it right here!
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