Following last week’s drama at Aintree, racing’s finest steeplechasers head north to the Ayrshire coast for Saturday’s Scottish Grand National, a race which, according to bookmakers, is as open as any staged in the past decade.
The enforced absence of both Denman and Silver by Nature has resulted in Poker de Sivola, a 12/1 shot less than a fortnight ago, being backed in by bookmakers to 6/1. Unlike several horses who challenged at Cheltenham and went on to perform below par at Aintree last week, Poker de Sivola has had an additional week to recover and horse betting enthusiasts have been keen to support him as news of the high profile defections became official.
Online horse betting punters are also no doubt conscious that Poker de Sivola’s trainer, Ferdy Murphy, has saddled the Scottish National winner three times in the last ten years.
Meanwhile, Gone To Lunch, last year’s runner-up, has been backed to go one better this time around and is priced at 10/1 to ride into the winner’s enclosure on Saturday afternoon.
Betting on horse racing increases markedly at this time of the year as UK punters in particular have a unique opportunity to enjoy two high-profile horse races, each of which are screened live on terrestrial TV.
This fact, combined with virtually universal internet access, has contributed to the burgeoning growth of online horse race betting. In short, punters will bet if a race is screened on terrestrial TV and they anticipate a bookmaker offering decent starting (or antepost) prices.
Such expectations are fuelling support for the successful Jonjo O’Neill / Tony McCoy partnership to land a unique double at Ayr, this time with Theatrical Moment. The seven year-old finished sixth behind Chief Dan George in the Trophy Chase at Cheltenham last month, but his trainer feels he has come on well since then, which accounts for his online betting odds of 12/1.
However, the number of horse racing bets placed on Killyglen eased slightly this week when the race handicapper decided that he must carry top weight of 11st 12 lb as opposed to the 9st 11lb he was originally scheduled to bear. Killyglen is now a 10/1 shot as a consequence, though still attractive enough for those who enjoy having an each-way bet.
Chief Dan George, who overwhelmed Theatrical Moment at Cheltenham, may disappoint horse betting enthusiasts by missing out at Ayr, though he’s still available at 8/1 to win the Scottish National. However, barring catastrophe, one horse that looks certain to make the starting post is second favourite Meanus Dandy (7/1), scheduled to be ridden by Gold Cup winner Paddy Brennan. The Irishman is a big favourite amongst horse racing betting fans after scoring on Imperial Commander at Cheltenham, a success which has raised his profile amongst a wider audience of UK punters.
As might be expected, online horse racing betting fans have a wealth of data to mine in order to find the Scottish National winner, so we’ve summarised some of the salient points below.
For example, last year’s winner Hello Bud was the first horse in a decade to be aged over ten; better, then, for those online horse betting followers to look for a horse aged between 7-9. It’s also worth backing a horse that has finished in the top five in its last outing – as nine of the past ten winners have.
Horse betting fans may also be intrigued to learn that no horse running in the Grand National has ever gone on to win the same season’s Scottish National, though stamina is just as important at Ayr as it is at Liverpool. Nine of the last ten winners had won over three miles or more, a statistic likely to be of interest to any follower of horse racing betting.
Naturally enough, mounts with a good jumping record are worth backing as the record books show that nine of the last ten winners had no more than two falls.
All of this analysis suggests that online horse betting supporters should pare their selections down to perhaps half a dozen horses. Of the leading contenders, we have already discussed Poker de Sivola and Gone to Lunch, but Mobaasher (16/1) looks the pick of the ‘other’ bunch for horse racing betting fans ahead of Saturday’s big race.