THE Grand National underwent a major shake-up on Wednesday – impacting every one of the 34 remaining runners.
Gordon Elliott’s Conflated had been top weight in the field and due to carry 11st12lb in Saturday’s £1million race.
Elliott, who has won the National three times, will send Conflated to a different race, therefore altering the weights of all the horses left in the NationalSportsfile
But the Irish trainer has declared the Gigginstown-owned horse for Friday’s Melling Chase instead.
It means 2022 winner Noble Yeats will now be raised from 11st11lb to 11st12lb, making him the new top weight.
And because he has been bumped up a pound, all the other runners in the race will be too.
That was good news for Welsh trainer Christian Williams as his well-backed Kitty’s Light snuck in at the bottom of the weights.
The former bet365 Gold Cup and Scottish Grand National winner has been hammered into 14-1.
But it’s a Willie Mullins runner who is attracting a ‘torrent’ of money – specifically his incredibly well-backed Meetingofthewaters.
Bookies predict he could usurp defending champ Corach Rambler as favourite by the time the runners set off on the 4m2f race at 4pm, after a ‘massive’ surge of cash on the JP McManus-owned horse.
All runners carry different weights in the Grand National because it is a handicap race.
The best horses carry the most weight in a bid to make it as fair as possible.
Conflated was a 50-1 chance for the Grand National but will now take on the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Ryanair winner Protektorat in the Grade 1 chase.
More to follow.
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