Four to follow for National riches

PA Sport Reporters
April 1, 2021 1:15 pm

Double-figure quartet for Aintree showpiece.

If Cloth Cap is as ‘well in’ as the numbers suggest, it might be all about the places in the Randox Grand National. We pinpoint four horses who could give you a good run for your money, at double-figure odds, in the Aintree spectacular.

Any Second Now (Ted Walsh) 10-1

Ted Walsh with Any Second Now and Mark Walsh after victory at Naas (Alan Magee/PA)

Impressive in his prep run when hacking up by 10 lengths in a Grade Two over two miles at Navan. He himself is technically 2lb well in off his revised mark following that victory and looked a National type when winning a soundly-run Kim Muir at the Cheltenham Festival two years ago. The distance is the only question mark for this largely sound jumper, but his trainer knows exactly what is required.

Kimberlite Candy (Tom Lacey) 16-1

Kimberlite Candy has long appealed as a National type (Steven Paston/PA)

Twice a runner-up in the Becher Chase, this nine-year-old has proven his aptitude for the National fences, and a Classic Chase win in testing conditions at Warwick last term suggests the trip may not pose a problem either. His mark of 153 puts him in the right ballpark, he goes well fresh and connections have made no secret of the fact this has been his target all year.

Acapella Bourgeois (Willie Mullins) 33-1

Acapella Bourgeois should go well at a price (Niall Carson/PA)

Third in the 2019 Irish National to Burrows Saint, he dished out a near five-length beating to that stable companion in the Bobbyjo Chase last time. He was conceding 6lb that day and will be getting 1lb this time, so it perhaps makes more sense to take a chance on the old stager rather than the younger Mullins inmate, who is roughly half his price.

Farclas (Denise Foster) 40-1

Farclas at Cheltenham - another Tiger Roll? — Farclas at Cheltenham – another Tiger Roll? (David Davies/PA)

Like his illustrious dual National-winning stablemate Tiger Roll, Farclas was a Triumph Hurdle winner in his juvenile days – and while he has not hit those heights over fences, he has been batting away in competitive handicap chases all season. Second to The Shunter in the Plate at Cheltenham, the distance is a huge question mark, but equally he is an unexposed runner off a relatively light weight.