Horse racing's greatest occasion returns to Aintree this Saturday with the 2022 Grand National.
The race, which runs at 5.15pm, will consist of a field of 40 horses And there will be no shortage of bets for any of them, with punters again expected to hand in excess of £300 million over to the bookies.
Many tipsters have Snow Leopardess as their outright favourite, with some bookmakers having the grey mare at 7-1. Delta Work is also fancied, with current odds around 8-1. Any Second Now and Escaria Ten follow closely behind, from Enjoy D'Allen and Eclair Surf. Minella Times, trained by Henry de Bromhead, is the top weight in the race this time, but will still be backed given Rachael Blackmore is on board.
What's imperative to punters of course, is the background of the horses and their past form, especially at Aintree. Here's our guide to each of the favourites and their recent records.
Snow Leopardess: The Charlie Longsdon-trained horse will have to make history if she is to prevail. The ten-year-old, to be ridden by Aidan Coleman, had a foal in 2017 during a two-year break from racing, and no horse has ever won the famous event after giving birth.
However, she has won all three starts this season, including the Becher Chase over the National fences in December. And whilst this will represent her first appearance in the main race, she is no stranger to National week and ran in the Betway Handicap Chase last year.
Delta Work: Having denied stablemate Tiger Roll the perfect send-off at Cheltenham last month, trainer Gordon Elliott will be eyeing up a memorable double for his horse. However, prior to that already famous win last month, the nine-year-old's record made for poor reading - he hadn’t won a race in over two years and has never before raced in the National.
Jack Kennedy will be the jockey tasked with continuing the recent renaissance, with the chances of backing up Cheltenham potentially enhanced by the wet weather this week.
Any Second Now: Here is a horse with real pedigree, having won the 2019 Kim Muir Handicap Chase, 2021 Webster Cup Chase and 2022 Bobbyjo Chase. Owned by JP McManus and trained by Ted Walsh, the ten-year-old put in a bold show on his debut Grand National outing a year ago, finishing third.
However, that came off a mark of 152, and he will take his chance this season in the 2022 renewal off a mark of 159. So with Mark Walsh aboard, he will need to improve to land the spoils.
Escaria Ten: Another of Elliott's horses, Escaria Ten, is also in contention, despite failing to convert his favourite tag into a win in the 2021 National Hunt Chase in Cheltenham. He also disappointed at the Irish Grand National, pulling up before the finish.
However, he posted a solid effort in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse in February, losing out to Any Second Now by a nose. That display has got punters excited about the chances of him and jockey Adrian Heskin securing a victory despite the horse having not run in this race before.
