Barry Geraghty tips: My Grand National fancy should stay the trip and he looks a few pounds ahead of the handicapper

ASK any jump jockey which race they’d like to win more than any other and  most would say the Grand National.

Of course, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is right up there too but, in my book, the National would shade it.

PABarry Geraghty has picked out his top tips for the Grand National[/caption]

I was very lucky to do it back in 2003 on the legendary Monty’s Pass.
I remember the day so well, I’ll never forget it.

Everyone around the country and beyond — racing fan or not — has heard of the Grand National.

The fences might not be as big and scary as they once were  but it’s still some spectacle.

Today’s race looks wide open but my idea of the winner is LE MILOS (5.15). He was very good when winning the old Hennessy at Newbury and I was particularly impressed with his jumping that day. Jumping is key at Aintree, obviously.

He really looked like he needed the run at Kelso last time and that was more than likely a warm-up for this. He should stay and could easily still be a few pounds ahead of the handicapper.

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Longhouse Poet can follow him home. He ran well in the race 12 months ago and just ran out of petrol at the  end having been a touch keen.

You’d imagine this has been the plan ever since and his trainer, Martin Brassil, knows the exact horse required to win the Grand National having won it with Numbersixvalverde in 2006.

He’s a year older now and that experience should help him settle better than last year.

Then it’s hard to leave Delta Work and Corach Rambler out.

Delta Work was a good third last year and the extra week between Cheltenham and Aintree will mean he’s had a bit more time to get over running in the Cross Country. He’s very classy and it’s not rocket science to say he will go close.

Corach Rambler has been regarded as a National type for some time now and we all know he’s very well-handicapped after his Cheltenham Festival success. If anything, I think he’s travelling better in his races this year and he looks the perfect fit for the contest.

The only issue with him is he can get a long way back  and it’s not easy to make up ground in a race of this nature. Derek  Fox has a tricky task ahead of him. He’ll want to drop him out  but not too far as winners of this race these days tend to race near the head of the field.

My slightly left-field selection is Mister Coffey. He’s run good races at the last two Festivals and, while he was disappointing over the National fences previously, he’s an older horse now and the experience should help him run better.


Nicky Henderson has already had a great week with Constitution Hill and Shishkin and it would be some story if he could also end his Grand National hoodoo.

There’s plenty of other great action on the card and the day kicks off with the Grade 1 Maghull Novices’ Chase and it looks simple for JONBON (1.45).

You don’t need me to tell you he’s a long way clear of his rivals and he should win this comfortably.

The next Grade 1 is the Mersey  Novices’ Hurdle and DARK RAVEN (3.00) looks like the likeliest winner in my book. I hope they’ll ride him with a bit more patience than they did in the Supreme because I thought he was ridden a little bit too competitively at Cheltenham.

He’s clearly got plenty of ability and I just prefer him to Hermes Allen, who must bounce back from a below-par run in the Ballymore.

I’ll also be keeping an eye on Springwell Bay at a bigger price. It is interesting connections have pitched him in here, as opposed to a handicap, because a mark of 140 is quite inviting. They clearly think he’s a good horse in a Grade 1 and could offer a bit of value.

The staying hurdling division is very tricky to work out as they go from being brilliant one day to struggling badly the next.

The Liverpool Hurdle feels like one of those races where if you ran it five times you could get five different winners, so finding one isn’t easy!

I can’t say it’s a confident view, but CHAMP (3.35) could do it. We know he’s best fresh and trainer Henderson has deliberately kept him back for this. He won the Sefton a few years ago so we know he likes Aintree.

SHAKEM UP’ARRY (4.15) is my fancy in this handicap.  I thought he ran really well at Cheltenham last time and hopefully he can build on that here. You’d like to think the step up in trip will help him too.

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