Our rundown of the runners in the Aintree Grand National

Here's the rundown of the runners for Saturday's race - along with our rating and comments on each entrant. There are free bets especially for the Grand National so if you open an account today, you'll get some extra money. Stand by for the full preview of the Grand National tomorrow - with our tips and our 'final word'. In the meantime, it's still up to you to make your own choice! So here we go...

Horse	Odds	FBB Rating	FBB Comments	Bet
Butler's Cabin	8/1	*****	Fairly treated by the handicapper after an unlucky Grand National last year. Butler's Cabin is an excellent pick, and a great opportunity for Tony McCoy to make it 13th time lucky. He may be French, but he is not French-trained, so ignore my warnings about French horses not winning the national! This one can...	Bet with Boyle Sports
My Will	8/1	***	Would have to carry round the heaviest weight in the last twenty years if he's going to win this one. Form, however, is excellent, so it's hard to rule him out of the shortlist.	Bet With Paddy Power
Rambling Minster	10/1	****	Has both stamina and form - so is hard to oppose, but not having seen the National fences is the only thing counting against him. In the weights and is the right age. Could go all the way.	Bet With Coral
Hear the Echo	14/1	***	The Irish selection - but the handicapper has got a hold of him. 11st5 is too heavy for the national, and it would take every ounce of talent this former Irish Grand National winner has got to get round Aintree carrying all that.	Bet with Boyle Sports
State of Play	14/1	***	On his day, brilliant. When not on his day, less so. While that can be said for many, for State of Play it is especially true. Hard to back, but difficult to remove from the shortlist.	Bet With Coral
Parson's Legacy	16/1	***	An interesting each-way bet has had his odds halved, so there's a lot of interest. Back from injury, and looked good - shaping up to be a National horse with bags of stamina. Has never seen Aintree before, though.	Bet with Sporting Bet
Black Apalachi	16/1	****	Winner over the National fences in November - but this time, the handicapper has got him. 153 is stiff - 11st5 is 4 lbs heavier than Hedgehunter.	Bet With Paddy Power
Kilbeggan Blade	20/1	***	A horse that can stay all day, but ultimately prefers softer ground and has come a cropper against classier opposition in the past. No Aintree pedigree either.	Bet with Boyle Sports
Darkness	20/1	***	A dark horse? Had a bad injury and came back well at Newbury, so has an outside chance of making the places. Only an outside chance.	Bet with Sporting Bet
L'Ami	20/1	***	They've been trying to get L'Ami ready for this one, but without much luck. Stranger things have happened, and L'Ami fits the bill - Aintree pedigree, wins over 3 miles, within the weights and is the right age. Don't rule out just yet.	Bet with Boyle Sports
Comply or Die	25/1	**	It will be tough to follow-up on last year's win for Comply or Die. 11st6 is going to be too much to lug around the course, and history is against him.	Bet With Paddy Power
Cornish Sett	25/1	****	Questions over his stamina have disappeared, and he has a decent record at Aintree, having finished last year's National. Now looking progressive, Cornish Sett is an excellent each-way bet - maybe more? Will go into 25/1 and maybe as far down as 20/1 by the day.	Bet with Boyle Sports
Big Fella Thanks	25/1	***	This might be a year too early - you have to go a long way back to find a seven year old winning the National! Still - there's plenty of talent, so keep an eye on this one and wait for next year...	Bet With Coral
Snowy Morning	25/1	**	Severely handicapped, but has course and distance pedigree. That's probably why he's having to carry 11st8 around on Saturday. Rule him out.	Bet with Sporting Bet
Southern Vic	25/1	***	From the same team as Papillon, who surprised us all a few years ago, Southern Vic is a horse that prefer softer ground - and won't get it. Concerns over his jumping make him hard to back, but on his day, he can provide anyone with problems.	Bet with Boyle Sports
Irish Invader	28/1	***	Willie Mullins thinks a lot of this entry, and why not - although most of his wins have been at middle distance. Good form puts him in the frame for a decent each-way shot. Perhaps not much more, though.	Bet With Paddy Power
Brooklyn Brownie	33/1	***	Might not be up to Grade 1 standard, but Brooklyn Brownie actually has a lot going for him - a decent second over the National fences, a little bit of form, and well within the weights. Stamina's not much of a question as he's got a couple of wins over 3 miles, so it really comes down to class - has he got it?	Bet With Coral
Cloudy Lane	33/1	***	Would have been in the reckoning if it weren't for the huge amount of weight on his back. As it is, 33/1 is too short.	Bet with Sporting Bet
Offshore Account	33/1	**	One for those who believe in omens - Offshore Account has bags of talent, but hasn't shown much of it since 2007. An each-way opportunity at best.	Bet With Paddy Power
Himalayan Trail	35/1	****	In March last year, Himalayan Trail won the Midland Grand National at Uttoxeter. He won it well. At the Grand National distance. So Jimmy Mangan - who won with Monty's Pass in 2003 - is hopeful that Himalayan Trail can go one better and win the big one. Has run well over hurdles this year, with is another pre-requisite for a National winner, this is one of the best long-odds horses in the field. For a couple of quid, why not go each way?	Bet with Boyle Sports
Battlecry	40/1	**	Some interesting form in the past - mostly in defeat - means that Battlecry doesn't give cause for much interest here.	Bet with Sporting Bet
Can't Buy Time	40/1	****	One to watch for the coming years - this seven year old has been catching the eye of the handicapper. Still well within the weights, and nearly there when it comes to stamina (seemed to fade at 4 miles at Cheltenham), Jonjo O'Neill's contender was hugely impressive in victory last time out. As I say, one to watch - maybe even on Saturday...	Bet with Boyle Sports
Chelsea Harbour	40/1	***	Weight will probably be the undoing of Chelsea Harbour. 11st8 is too much - and if the weights had been lower, he would have been among the favourites. Shame - he could have been a contender.	Bet With Paddy Power
Golden Flight	50/1	*	Never back a French-trained horse. Or so they say. An interesting entry, this one - injury-plagued but talented. But French-trained horses don't win the National.	Bet with Sporting Bet
Idle Talk	50/1	**	There's something about Idle Talk that we quite like - perhaps it's the Aintree pedigree and the decent form a couple of years back. What we don't like is his jumping. If he makes it round, he might do well. But he probably won't make it round.	Bet With Coral
Musica Bella	50/1	**	French. Oh but it's so easy to be dismissive, isn't it? Look at the amount of money this horse has won in France - and I lived there for ten years and followed "le steeplechase" - Auteuil is a tough, demanding course, not for the faint-hearted. Like I say, French horses don't win this race, but this is not a bad horse by any stretch of the imagination. It just takes a big stretch of your own imagination to see it winning first time out in the UK.	Bet with Boyle Sports
Silver Birch	50/1	**	Form is against Silver Birch, now 12-years old, but a former Grand National winner. It will be hard for him to recapture those glories, despite coming in fresh.	Bet With Paddy Power
Knowhere	50/1	***	Two National rides - and he has upseated his rider twice. Still, there's a small chance that he can shake off that weight disadvantage and make for an each-way opportunity.	Bet with Boyle Sports
Mon mome	66/1	***	His form has taken a knock, but his ability should not be doubted - he got round the National fences last time out, and had a great win at Cheltenham towards the back end of last year. Of the longer-odds horses, this one looks the best value, and comes in at a decent weight.	Bet With Coral
Priest's Leap	66/1	**	Ground is against Priest's Leap who has, in the past, beaten the likes of Black Apalachi. A first visit to Aintree is never easy, but stamina and jumping are both plus points for this outsider.	Bet with Sporting Bet
Fleet Street	100/1	*	Perhaps an early leader, as he likes to go from the front. Don't expect him to stay there, though.	Bet With Paddy Power
Ollie Magern	100/1	*	Another horse who likes to lead from the front - the weight will be a huge disadvantage, however. As will charging to the front early on in a four-mile race.	Bet with Boyle Sports
Reveillez	100/1	**	Won the Betfair handicap back in 2007, and JP McManus clearly thinks he's got something decent if he's pitched him into the Grand National after an absence of two years. If he can capture the form of two years ago, then he's interesting. If not - and that has been the case so far - he's not.	Bet With Coral
Stan	100/1	**	Ah, Stan... I like Stan. However, he's got lungs the size of tennis balls and he's much better at shorter distances. The bastard handicapper has also hit him with a massive penalty, too, so Stan - poor Stan - it's not to be this year.	Bet With Paddy Power
Zabenz	100/1	*	Another whose past glories are well behind him. This is something of a comeback race for Zabenz, and I don't see it being a fruitful one.	Bet with Boyle Sports
Fundamentalist	150/1	*	Can't jump, and doesn't have the stamina.
Eurotrek	150/1	*	13 years old and his best days are well behind him. 150/1 is about right - injuries have ravaged him and he's a shade of his former self.	Bet With Paddy Power
Arteea	200/1	*	Arteea has never been competitive over 3 miles, so quite why he's entered in the National, I don't know. Also out of sorts form-wise. Scratch.	Bet With Coral
Kelami	500/1	*	Rather harsh odds for Kelami, who falls within the weights and was unlucky to fall in last year's National. Knows Aintree (although he's never got round it), so if you want the longest-possible shot (i.e. if you're desperate), a couple of quid each-way might make you very rich. That's "might".	Bet with Boyle Sports
Cerium	500/1	*	Meh........	Bet with Boyle Sports

published: 3rd April 2009 by Free Bet Bookmaker

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