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Posted 2019-03-25 07:36:34  
Tiger Roll Favourite, But Plenty of Betting Value in the 2019 Grand National

With just a couple of weeks to go until the Grand National (6th April), the name of one horse is on everybody’s lips – Tiger Roll. The 2018 National winner, four-time Cheltenham Festival winner and all-round superstar is taking huge money on the ante-post betting markets, with a price now as low as 7/2 with bookies like Bet365. He looks every bit the champion, but it’s easy to forget just how difficult it is to win a Grand National, so there are other options out there for bettors looking a bigger price.

Indeed, Anibale Fly, who was fourth in the race last year – a feat in itself – is also taking plenty of money after a brilliant second-place finish in the Cheltenham Gold Cup a couple of weeks ago. The Tony Martin trained horse can be found at 12/1 with a handful of bookies, including Ladbrokes and William Hill, and certainly looks a solid bet.

Rathvinden perfect fit for Aintree

Rathvinden – trained by Willie Mullins, who had the highly fancied Total Recall in last year’s race – is also sitting very stubbornly at the top of the betting markets, coming in at 12/1 with most major sportsbooks, but priced slightly lower than that on betting exchanges. He’s a tough type and fairly reliable, one who is likely to have either Ruby Walsh or Paul Townend in the saddle. Finishing in the top five places – or better – is certainly not beyond this former Cheltenham Festival winner.
Moreover, looking around different bookies sites, there are a number of ways you can enjoy free bets for Grand National 2019, and there are plenty of interesting long-shot candidates. For a start, Blaklion, who is really being aimed at this event after skipping Cheltenham, is priced at 40/1 with Unibet and William Hill. He hasn’t been great over the last year, but he has long been touted as a potential winner for this race and trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies seems to be giving him every chance this year.

Plenty of long-shots in contention

Ballyoptic, Captain Redbeard, The Young Master and Vieux Lion Rouge can all be found at odds of 50/1 with various sportsbooks, each should have each-way claims should they contest the race. Indeed, it’s important to remember that several bookies will pay out on six places or more, so backing some horses at big prices each-way looks like shrewd business.

While there is value in the each-way betting, the same question will dominate the lead up to the race – can anyone contend with Tiger Roll? If he is on his best form, which he really looks to be over the past few months, then you would think the answer is no. Tiger Roll is built for this kind of race, which is partly the reason that comparisons are being drawn to the legendary Red Rum.

In saying that, odds of 4/1 look a bit too short for any candidate in a race that usually sees about half the field finishing. Moreover, Tiger Roll has had a far from perfect career, with twice as many losses over 33 races as he has had wins. This is not Frankel or Black Caviar we are talking about here.

In the end though, he deserves to go off as favourite and has every chance of becoming the first horse to win back-to-back Grand Nationals since the 1970s. You would expect plenty of punters to double up in this race, backing Tiger Roll but also have a nibble on the likes of Lake View Lad (20/1) and Vintage Clouds (16/1) for some each-way places.
 

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