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The Grand National is arguably the biggest race of the year and the 2022 GN is set to be a fantastic occasion. The race will take place on Saturday the 9th of April at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool and millions of people will be having a bet. With that in mind, we will take a closer at some of the GN horses racing this year, beginning with the bookies favourite.
Any Second Now is owned by JP McManus and that immediately makes you sit up and take notice. You must go back to 2010 to find the first time a horse owned by McManus won the Grand National and he tasted success for a second time in 2021 as Minella Times won the GN. Trained by Ted Walsh, the 10-year-old is at a prime age for Grand National success and the victory over Escaria Ten in the recent meeting at Fairyhouse in February underlines the strong claims of Any Second Now. He finished third in the GN last year having been badly hampered at the 12th fence and more is expected of Any Second Now in 2022.
Despite having come second to Any Second Now at Fairyhouse in February, Escaria Ten came close and that makes him a leading contender for the GN this year. Escaria Ten may have run only twice in 2022 but his whole season appears to have been planned with this race in mind. The performance at Fairyhouse was enough to persuade people to part with their cash ahead of the 2022 Grand National and Escaria Ten is one to watch at Aintree this year.
Gordon Elliott is the trainer of Escaria Ten and he will also have his hopes pinned on Delta Work, who comes into the Grand National in fine form. He defeated Tiger Roll at Cheltenham, which may not have gone down well with most of the people that day, but it places Delta Work in the category of potential GN winner this year. The Elliot and Gigginstown House Stud combination enjoyed remarkable success with Tiger Roll at both the 2018 and 2019 Grand National and they will be hoping it works again with Delta Work in 2022.
Moving on and Snow Leopardess is aiming to become the first mare to win the GN since 1951. The winner of the Becher Chase at Aintree last December, Snow Leopardess is unbeaten in three starts over fences this term and she is a leading contender in the betting odds for the 2022 Grand National. Interestingly, Snow Leopardess is a grey horse and you must go back to 2012 and Neptune Collonges to find the last time a grey horse won the GN. The recent record of grey horses in the race is not great but Farclas finished in 5th place last year at 16/1, which suggests Snow Leopardess could at least make each way places. With fewer grey horses in the event, it makes following your horse from the crowd easier should you choose to back a grey horse in the 2022 GN.
We sign off with a look at the winner of the 2021 GN, Minella Times. With Tiger Roll recently winning back-to-back Grand National races, it shows it can be done and Rachael Blackmore will return to guide him to another GN success in 2022. Prior to the victory last year, Minella Times had never won beyond 2¾ mile, but he is carrying extra weight coming into the race this year and that could prove too much for the defending champion.
