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Archive for the ‘Grand National runners’ Category

On Saturday, April 10 2010, the John Smith’s Grand National will take place with a record prize fund of £925,000 so competition for a place among the forty starters is fierce as it is the only race in which the British Horse racing Authority’s Head of Handicapping, Phil Smith, can use his discretion to determine the weight each horse will carry.

The weights were announced on Tuesday 16 February, in London at the Official Launch of the 2010 John Smith’s Grand National attended by connections of many of the leading contenders and such is the quality of this year’s entry that only 14 of the 111 remaining entries are not currently in the handicap.

Since then there has been much discussion about the various horses and which of them will ultimately make it to the final day without being scratched off the list over the next few weeks.

The highest weight attributed to any one horse was 11st 10lbs and, as it turned out, three horses were allotted this and they are Albertas Run, Madison Du Berlais and Notre Pere. Interestingly, this was the highest weight in the 2009 Grand National also when it was given to Cloudy Lane who unseated his rider, Jason Maguire, at fence fifteen.

The lowest weight, 8st 12lbs, went to Offaly, an Irish nine year old trained by Pru Townsley. A weight this low and one that puts the horse at 111 on the list of possible runners essentially puts him out of contention. In fact, only horses that made it in to the top 75 of weights are most likely to make it in to the race after the scratchings take place over the next few weeks.

Last year Cerium was number 75 on the list and made it through and coincidentally he is number 75 on the list again so his trainer, Paul Murphy, is hoping that history will repeat itself this year as well as Cerium came in a respectable fifth place in 2009 and Murphy believes that he is in even better shape this year.

With the biggest and the finest event in the world of horse racing, the Grand National, fast approaching, all eyes are set on it. The Grand National is such an event that it captures the imagination of every sporting enthusiast, no matter whether they follow horse racing keenly or not. Look around you; you will see everyone trying to gather knowledge about the Grand National 2012 runners so that they can bet on the right horse. The first participating horse that you need to know about is Ballabriggs. Aged ten, he emerged a wonderful winner in 2011. The big question is can he win it back to back?

Another horse that is making people sit up and take notice is Beshabar. This horse is nine years old and won the Scottish National race last year. A lot of people think that Oscar Time is the horse to watch out for. This horse came second in Grand National 2011 and is determined to do better this year. Oscar Time is ten years old. The nine year old West End Rocker may surprise a lot of people. However, punters should see whether or not Alan King decides to run West End Rocker at the National again since he does not often believe that he has a run suited for the National. Other Grand National runners of 2012 include Beautiful Sound and Baby Run among others.