Grand National runners that meet the requirements in 2011

Thursday, 07, Apr 2011 10:30

There are going to be forty Grand National Runners this Saturday all lining up at Aintree and picking the Grand National winner is always a difficult thing to do, but picking Grand National Runners who should go well shouldn't be too difficult.

Possibly the most important factor for the Grand National is the ground. Some of the best horses in the world have problems when encountering ground that doesn't suit their needs so it will be key to back horses who have run their best races on the prevailing ground. The ground looks set to be good to soft at the very worst but in all likelihood it will probably be good (good to soft in places) by the off time on Saturday and that could inconvenience many horses.

Horses won't necessarily have had to win on good ground to run well in the Grand National but it is a big help that a horse has run well on the ground before. One fancied horse that immediately jumps out is Silver By Nature. He has shown a clear liking for soft or even heavy ground and in his three runs on good to soft or better since 2009 he has failed to even get close to placing.

The Grand National is the longest race in the British horse racing calendar and is run over four and half miles, a race that takes around ten minutes to complete. Horses need serious stamina to be competitive in a race of this nature and it is usually a must to have won a race over 3 miles or more but proven stamina over further is even better. Previous Grand National form shows how some horses cope with the race but there are plenty of other staying races that other runners will have competed in. One horse who looks to have plenty of stamina is Hello Bud, he has won a Scottish Grand National over 4 miles and came fifth in the Grand National last year.

There is also no jumping test like the Grand National, most the fences are around 5 foot tall and any jumping weaknesses will be exposed, which is why it pays to back good jumpers only, preferably with no or only one fall. One of the quickest ways to narrow down the Grand National field by a horse's jumping is to Click here and to use the dropdown menus to narrow the Grand National Runners down by how many times they have fallen, how far they have won over and many other important factors, it also tells you the preferred going for each horse.