Boylesports Irish Grand National Odds and Preview – Horse Racing Betting April 17

Don't oppose Gigginstown's Irish Grand National runners on Principle

Horse Racing Betting

A big well done to Dublin-based Paddy Power and Skybet for offering each-way betting at one quarter the odds on the first six in Easter Monday’s Boylesports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse.

You would have thought that the sponsors, also based in Ireland, would have offered the same concession in a bid to boost the races’s profile, though they are offering an extra place (down to fifth) on top of the normal each-way terms applicable in a handicap featuring 30 runners.

Paddy Power and are renowned for their repeated bonuses and daily money back specials.

They are well known for their social media exploits and they like to promote plenty of excitement about their markets and their products. They can back it all up with a very strong product platform, one of the best in-play services around and an extensive sports book.

There is a welcome bonus available too of £30 worth of free bets to enjoy when you become a new customer of Paddy Power via online-betting.me.uk. You automatically receive a free £30 bet but this is only activated when you, as a new customer, place a minimum stake of £10 with minimum odds of 1.50 (1/2). When that is done Paddy Power will give you 3 free bets of £10 each (3 x £10). This offer is only valid for new customers and the free bets will be valid for 30 days.

Any possible winnings will be displayed on the betting receipt. This will include the stake but because this is a free offer, the stake will not be returned, only the winnings. This offer can only be used on Paddy Power and only in their sportsbook; it cannot be used in any other part of the Paddy Power website.

Although Paddy Power accepts payment from Skrill/Moneybookers and Neteller they do not accept these methods of payment for this free bet offer. Terms and conditions apply, please see full details directly at Paddy Power.

Irish National History

The Irish Grand National doesn’t generate the excitement of its English cousin – there is no Becher’s Brook or Chair at Fairyhouse- but it can boast a similar long history. It has often proved a decent trial for the following year’s Aintree marathon and is a tough race in its own right. Several winners have gone on to glory at Liverpool – Rhyme ‘n’ Reason, Bobbyjo and Numbersixvalverde among them – and last year’s Aintree hero Rule The World was placed in the Irish Grand National in the year before. The race also carries 270,000 euros in prize money so it’s no surprise that it attracts top stayers from both sides of the Irish Sea.
The event was first run in 1870 and has only ever been staged at Fairyhouse – the first winner, Sir Robert Peel, earned 167 sovereigns. The Easter Monday fixture is a magnet for racegoers from nearby Dublin, earning it the name ‘The Dubs’ Day Out’.
Often run on quickish going, no chaser since Commanche Court in 2000 has successful carried more than 11st to victory. Only one winner since 1991 has been aged older than 10 but the brilliant Desert Orchid was that age when carrying top weight of 12st to victory in 1990. Both Jonjo O’Neill and Mouse Morris have trained the winner twice in the last 10 years and the race has also been a good one recent for lady trainers with two of the last four renewals going to handlers of the female persuasion.

Gigginstown must have struggled to find enough caps of varied colours to differentiate between their 14 runners. Gordon Elliott trains eight of those and also runs Noble Endeavor and Bless The Wings for different owners. It’s very rare for one owner to dominate a race like this but there is no doubting the credentials of Tiger Roll, winner of the 4m National Hunt Chase at last month’s Cheltenham Festival and a general 16/1, though not certain to confirm that form with Haymount (a general 12/1) on worse terms.

Three entries run in the famous JP McManus green and gold, if you include first reserve Oscar Knight, and Shutthefrontdoor bids to repeat his victory in the race in 2014. He is a best 25/1 but retained jockey Barry Geraghty rides Minella Foru (a general 14/1), who has had just one run this term and looked a smart prospect at the end of 2015. Last year’s winner Rogue Angel and 2015 hero Thunder And Roses also take part.

Jessica Harrington’s Our Duke has won a Grade 1 race this season but possibly has a few pounds too much and is little value at a best 11/2, though is possibly better treated than Noble Endeavor (16/1 with Skybet). UK raider Fletchers Flyer looks to have been ‘laid out’ for the race and has been backed accordingly. Only a best 10/1 now, he has excellent claims but I feel that Gigginstown’s mass saturation of the entries can pay dividends.

The improving GENERAL PRINCIPLE, the mount of Bryan Cooper, can be backed at 20/1 and should make his presence felt while ALPHA DES OBEAUX (a general 25/1) has a touch of class and would be an interesting prospect if fully recovered from breaking a blood vessel in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham.

Irish Grand National Forecast Odds

Our Duke (11/2), Fletchers Flyer (10/1), Abolitionist (12/1), Minella Foru, Haymount and General Principle (14/1), Noble Endeavor and Tiger Roll (16/1), Arbre De Vie, Bless The Wings, Foxrock and Shutthefrontdoor (20/1), Alpha Des Obeaux, Bonny Kate, Oscar Knight , Raz De Maree and Sambremont (25/1), Another Hero, Baie Des Iles, Lord Scoundrel, Measureofmydreams , Mystical Knight, Rogue Angel, Roi Des Francs, Stellar Notion and Thunder And Roses (33/1), Dedigout, Double Seven, First Lieutenant, Tell Us More, Wounded Warrior and Clarcam (50/1), The Game Changer (66/1)