Author: GrandNationalpro Staff
After falling at the first hurdle on his quest for the triple-triple of festival Foxhunter titles, On The Fringe will return to action at Aintree as he looks to bounce back to winning ways. On The Fringe created history last season. Enda Bolger’s charge won the Foxhunters races at the Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown Festival for the second year in a row, becoming the first horse ever to land the double-triple of Foxhunters festival titles. A runner-up finish to Foxrock on his one and only pre-festival prep run was an encouraging start to the season in February and On The…
After missing the Cheltenham Festival through injury, both Barry Geraghty and Derek Fox are targeting the Grand National as the stage for their long-awaited returns. Barry Geraghty had featured in all of the last 16 Cheltenham Festivals, but a crashing fall on Charli Parcs in the Adonis Hurdle at Kempton, and a subsequent collision with a passing horse, left the 37-year-old Irishman with several broken ribs and a punctured lung. It will have been a bitter pill to swallow for Geraghty, having to miss out on the Cheltenham Festival and he was forced to watch as Noel Fehily rode Buveur…
More Of That will be Jonjo O’Neill’s main challenger in the Grand National and he is confident his former Cheltenham champion can do the business on his maiden run at Aintree. When Jonjo O’Neill claimed at the start of this season that More Of That was the best horse he has ever trained, punters all over Britain and Ireland pulled their wallets out of the pockets, awaiting the first chance to lump on More Of That when he made his return to action. The nine-year-old produced one of the best performances in recent Cheltenham Festival history back in 2014, when…
Foxrock has been backed by many in the build-up to the Grand National, but the horse’s owner, Barry Connell confirmed to the media that the Irish Grand National may be his chosen race this season. When searching for a potential Grand National winner, Foxrock ticks plenty of boxes. Before this season, Ted Walsh’s nine-year-old had spent the last few years holding his own in some of the biggest staying chases on the National Hunt scene. He finished well in the Irish Hennessy, the Lexus Chase and the Irish Gold Cup and even twice ran in feature races at the Cheltenham…
Pineau De Re is being aimed for a second Grand National victory Get the latest news from the 2014 Aintree hero’s trainer Dr Richard Newland, who trained Pineau De Re to win the Aintree Grand National, is hoping his 2014 hero and his other intended runner, Royale Knight, both make the field for this year’s contest on Saturday April 9. The Lambourn-based handler has been finalising preparations for his duo with Pineau De Re partnered by Brian Hughes in popping over two replica Grand National fences twice, as did Royale Knight who was ridden by Brendan Powell jnr. Newland said:…
Kerry Lee hopes to crown a memorable first season as a trainer with victory in the £1million Crabbie’s Grand National at Aintree on Saturday April 9 with Bishops Road. The Herefordshire handler has enjoyed a string of big-race successes since taking over the licence from her father Richard at the start of the season, including a first Grade One triumph with Kylemore Lough in the Ryanair Gold Cup Novices’ Chase at Fairyhouse on Easter Sunday. Bishops Road has been another success story for the stable with a 100% record since being bought out of Henry De Bromhead’s yard in September…
With the Grand National just around the corner now that the Cheltenham Festival is past, Brian Healy picks out three potential winners of the Aintree marathon in April. The Cheltenham Festival might be done and dusted for another year, but the top class National Hunt racing hasn’t quite reached the end of the road just yet, and the Crabbie’s Grand National is the next big jumps race in the calendar to loom over just over the horizon. The Aintree marathon is the world’s most famous race, and always represents a hugely competitive affair with a large field of 40 entrants…
Are you a novice punter wondering how to bet on the 2016 Grand National? We’ve got a beginners’ guide to the world’s most famous race to help you get on the right track to a winner! The Grand National – the world’s most famous race – attracts not only seasoned punters, but also the once-a-year bettors who at any other point of the year have little interest in the sport. The big race – held each year at Aintree – also serves for many novice punters as their entryway into a life-long relationship with horse racing. For those people, the…
Need to know what time the 2016 Grand National gets underway? Or which of the three days is Ladies Day? We’ve put together a 2016 Grand National meeting schedule with all the answers, including race-times for all three days. The 2016 Cheltenham Festival may already be just a memory, but thoughts now turn towards the next big jumps racing fixture, and the three-day Aintree Grand National meeting is the next top-class bonanza meeting to come over the horizon. Getting underway on Thursday 7 April, and over the course of three days, there is plenty of classy action to look forward…
Tony McCoy, the legendary 20-time champion jockey who retired last year, believes his final Grand National mount Shutthefrontdoor can win the 2016 running of the world’s greatest steeplechase at Aintree on Saturday April 9. Now known as Sir Anthony McCoy, the Northern Irishman announced in February 2015 that he was ending his riding career and hoped to bow out with a second Grand National victory aboard Shutthefrontdoor but could finish only fifth behind winner Many Clouds. Although McCoy will not be taking part in the 2016 Aintree Grand National, that is the target again for Shutthefrontdoor whose only subsequent race…