It's finally the day that we have all been waiting for. It's Grand National Day at the Aintree Festival. With millions of fans worldwide, the largest handicap steeplechase on earth will feature 34 competitors going to post. There's a £1 million prize to be won, with £500,000 going to the victor! Let's look at the runner below - JP McManus owns the best-backed horse of the week because he loves to win this particular race.
Without a question, the best-backed horse of the week is Limerick Lace, who has been backed this week from 25/1 all the way into 8/1, which requires an important investment in such a major event. The mare began her season at Clonmel in October with a facile win over fences, and in November she finished second in the Troytown at Navan behind Coko Beach.
She has only gone as far as the Troytown run. The jump from three miles to 4m2f is significant, therefore backers' first concern must be endurance. McManus is sure she can complete the trek, and last month at the Cheltenham Festival, she bravely sent off Dinoblue in the Paddy Power Mares' Chase over the longer 2m4f.
The winner was ridden to success by Paul Townend and is trained by Willie Mullins. "It was an excellent ride," stated Willie Mullins, the winning trainer. "I had stated prior to the race that we had not realized this horse's actual talent, and tonight he proved that he was better than he had ever been. After Bobbyjo, I believed he still had some handicapping advantage, and he has since demonstrated this. I believe he has the potential to be a Gold Cup horse, but since he doesn't race at home, we don't know how good he could be. He may be eccentric, but he is incredibly talented, and we won't know how good he is until others surpass him".