County Meath trainer Gordon Elliott has lay claim to three Grand National winners. Beginning with Silver Birch in 2007, he then had to wait over decade to taste success again with dual-winner Tiger Roll (2018-19). All eyes now turn to this year’s renewal, which is set to be a thrilling prospect – not least with racegoers returning to Aintree for the first time in three years.
We made our own mini Grand National fence this morning to give our runners a bit of prep
Best of luck to everyone heading to @aintreeracecourse this week @EllaMcNeill__ @McNeill_Family @KtdaRacing pic.twitter.com/otSxOsERjm
— Gordon Elliott (@gelliott_racing) April 5, 2022
There’s no doubt that when looking to bet on Grand National 2022, names from Elliott’s yard will feature highly amongst the favourites – and the prolific trainer will be sending eight horses to Aintree this weekend. Should he be successful, Elliott will join fellow handlers Fred Rimell and Ginger McCain as the Leading Trainers in the National – but who should you keep an eye on? Read on to find out more.
Delta Work (8/1)
Delta Work is Elliott’s best chance of winning, and the nine-year-old recently denied his former stablemate Tiger Roll a fairytale farewell in the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Prior to that, his last 15 races had all been in the Grade 1 category – although results had been inconsistent. He had no problems going over the fences at Prestbury Park, but has been allocated a hefty weight of 11st 9lb. Jack Kennedy will remain in the saddle to take on the Aintree fences.
Escaria Ten (10/1)
While the eight-year-old hasn’t won a race this season, Escaria Ten will have weight advantage over some of his rivals. He was beaten by a nose in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse in February, with Any Second Now the victor that day – and will carry seven pounds fewer. Escaria Ten has one win in seven chases, but has the form and experience to be competitive – let’s not forget that he finished third to Galvin last year at Cheltenham.
Farclas & Run Wild Fred (25/1)
Back in November, the Gigginstown House Stud trainer landed a 1-2 at Navan, with Run Wild Fred beating Farclas in the Troytown Handicap Chase. The latter hasn’t raced since then, while the former – also eight years old – was well beaten at both Leopardstown and Cheltenham.
Farclas finished fifth in last year’s National, and should be feeling fresh ahead of the weekend’s renewal. Of the 10 chases Farclas has run, he’s won three and has experience in handling the big occasions – as former Triumph Hurdle winner. Run Wild Fred previously finished second in the Irish National (2021) and is a consistent performer – coming as runner-up in six of his last seven outings.
Completing Elliott’s entries are mare Mount Ida (33/1), Coko Beach (also 33/1), Death Duty (40/1) and Samcro (66/1).
Death Duty was a late substitution to the team and will be ridden by Jordan Gainford – replacing Battleoverdoyen who will be racing in the Topham Chase instead.
Odds are correct at the time of writing.
