The Grand National – Handicap Snips

With the handicap for the Grand National being formed and framed in early February there is plenty of time after that date for horses to show "improved" form so it can be well worth looking for those that are therefore "well in" on their old form. Those looking for Grand National betting offers should remember this.

To put it bluntly there are some horses that are artificially handicapped at the time of the weights and would otherwise be far higher in the handicap and in recent years horses with protected handicap marks like Comply or Die, Rough Quest and Lord Gyllene have all won the Grand National.

This process of protecting handicaps marks is becoming more and more prevalent and there are five horses this year who would if the handicapper could take a look at the weights now be allotted more weight than they have actually got in the race this year and this is important when it comes to considering the Grand National latest odds.

In the order of which they are well in, these are What A Friend, the Gold Cup fourth, who on that race alone would be looking at carrying a massive 15lb more in this race.

Moving on two big handicap winners since the publication of the weights would also be looking at substantial rises – they are Silver By Nature, who won the Haydock Grand National Trial and should by rights be carrying 10lb more and he is closely followed by Quinz who triumphed in the Racing Post Chase at Kempton. Quinz would have been saddled with an additional 9lb for the Kempton form.

There are a further two runners that would also be saddled with extra poundage given their form post-publication of the weights and they would be two Irish contenders. In Compliance the Cashel Chase winner at Thurles is the first and In Compliance who was second in the Bobbyjo Chase would also be raised in the handicap. The former would have an extra 7lb to carry and the later 8lb more.

Of course the "system" is not foolproof and you need to consider how well those five meet any other selection criteria that you wish to use but there is no doubt that given his time again the handicapper would be allotting this five more weight that they will carry on Saturday in the John Smith's Grand National.