With the excitement of Cheltenham over for another year, we can start looking forward to Aintree and the Grand National on April 11th.
There were a number of National contenders in action at the festival last week but they did not include current Aintree favourite Shutthefrontdoor. Trainer Jonjo O’Neill decided against running his Irish National winner, presumably on account of the quicker ground. He will almost certainly be the mount of Tony McCoy, his last in the race before retirement. If the champion jockey was humbled by the adulation he received at Cheltenham, what will it be like should he ride the National winner? He has said that he has no specific date/race in mind for his final ride but going out on a National winner would be hard to top.
We put up the horse at 20-1 a few weeks ago and he is now as short as 8-1 favourite. We also singled out Spring Heeled at 33-1 and the Irish raider has been clipped to a top price of 20-1 after a satisfactory comeback. Jim Culloty’s Lord Windermere was scuppered by the going change on Gold Cup day so I would not be too concerned if you snapped up some 33’s about his stable companion for Aintree.
Our third ante-post pick was Monbeg Dude and he was disappointing at Cheltenham, finishing well behind The Druids Nephew. He is apparently being tested to see if they can find a problem but it may be that the ground was just too fast for him. He does tend to get detached, even in soft ground, so he could yet be a factor at Aintree if we get a wet April.
The Druids Nephew was cut to 14-1 for the National but it was another race which caught my attention with regards to the big race. Cause Of Causes finally gained a first win over the larger obstacles when winning the National Hunt Chase under Jamie Codd. His rider had him tucked away behind the leaders all the way and produced him late on to hold Broadway Buffalo.
He races in the same colours as Shutthefrontdoor so it will be interesting to see who gets the ride. Codd did pick up a suspension for marking the horse but went on to land a second winner at the meeting and would seem the logical choice for Aintree. Cause Of Causes has 10st 9lb to carry in the National and the 33-1 on offer with William Hill looks worth snapping up. He is as short as 20-1 elsewhere.
Cause Of Causes @33-1 William Hill
