The 2018 Grand National is finally here!!!! Excitement has been building following the reveal of the weights but one horse who will not be running is the top weight Definitly Red. He was ruled out following his disappointing performance in the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham festival. However many of the other horses at the top of the handicap are holding their ground as the Grand National is a far more realistic, attractive proposition for connections than in the past. This is following the changes to how the weights are made and more information on this can be found on the infographic below. This will also cover many of the form contenders heading in to the 2018 Grand National.
One horse that has been all the rage for punters following a stellar performance at the Cheltenham festival is the Irish trained Anibale Fly. The 8 year old is trained by the shrewd Tony Martin and has always been held very highly by connections. He is owned by J P McManus who has had a lot of success in the race over the years that includes a victory with A P McCoy aboard the horse Don’t Push It back in 2010.
The latest Grand National betting odds now makes Anibale Fly the joint 11/1 market leader with another Irish trained horse in Total Recall. Anibale has won 7 of his 19 starts under rules and finished last season with a highly promising second to Disko in the Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown. He started the current campaign with two disappointing performances however these were both under inadequate trips. Anibale then entered the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown and turned it into a procession, slamming the field by 7 lengths. This was a big indicator of the horse’s ability and earmarked him for a crack at the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He followed this up with a heavy fall in the Irish Gold Cup when he was still in contention but being pushed along.
Anibale’s most recent start was in the previously mentioned Cheltenham Gold Cup where he put in a career best performance. He looked all about stamina as he stayed on strongly to get to within around 4 and 8 lengths of runner away leaders Native River and Might Bite. In the process pulling 4 lengths clear of the rest of the field. This was an eye catching performance and stamps him down as a well handicapped horse going into the 2018 Grand National.
