The Grand National may still be six months away, but with the National Hunt season officially underway, gamblers will soon start to look ahead to the biggest race of the season. The Grand National will be back in 2021 after being cancelled in 2020 for the first time since the Second World War due to the coronavirus.
Instead of the unpredictable race that fans have come to love, gamblers were given a virtual race-day experience, which showed what could have happened should the race have been run.
Regardless of the circumstances next year, it would appear as though plans to hold the Grand National will press ahead, and it will happen with or without fans. But, is there already value in the ante-post market for some of the horses that could be leading contenders in the Grand National in 2021?
Tiger Roll
As expected, the two-time winner of the Grand National is at the front of the betting, and the ante-post market does give gamblers an opportunity to get a huge price on Tiger Roll.
The price of the legendary horse will certainly drop before the big day if trainer Gordon Elliott reveals that the ten-year-old is targeting history. Only Red Rum has won three Grand Nationals, and Tiger Roll’s place in the history books will be there forever with a success in 2021.
Depending on who you ask, it would also make Tiger Roll the first horse to win the race in three consecutive running’s of the race. However, there are now questions surrounding this due to the fact that is was cancelled in 2020.
The 2019-20 season wasn’t the best for Tiger Roll as he didn’t win a single race and also lost his Cross Country crown after finishing second. However, there is still o doubting that he is one of the leading contenders for the Grand National with Davy Russell on board.
Burrows Saint
Willie Mullins has only won one Grand National throughout his esteemed career, with that success coming in the form of Hedgehunter in 2005. However, he has an exceptional chance in the 2021 National with Burrows Saint, who is looking like a horse that could excel over the Aintree fences.
The seven-year-old enjoyed a progressive season in 2019-20, but didn’t run for the second half of the season. Its last run came back on New Year’s Eve in 2019, as he won the Punchestown Hurdle over two miles and three furlongs.
Burrows Saint won that race by three and quarter lengths from Saglawy, and the Grand National could be the target in 2021.
There could also be history on the cards as Rachel Blackmore has rode the horse in the past, and victory would mean that she would become the first woman jockey to win the Grand National. However, there is still a long season ahead with a lot to be proven.
Potters Corner
The pick of the ante-post market in terms of value would have to be Potters Corner, who looked best placed to challenge for Tiger Roll’s crown in 2020. Instead, the ten-year-old needed to settle for success in the Virtual Grand National.
Potters Corner still has all the credentials to be one of the leading chances in the race next year and shown that with success in the Welsh Grand National back in December 2019.
The Corner became the first Welsh-trained winner of that race for 54 years and winning jockey Jack Tudor could have been on course to be the youngest winning jockey of the Grand National in over 70 years. But, Potters Corner will still have an excellent chance in the Grand National in 2021.
There you have it, the top picks for the Grand National. Make sure to check the odds online in BetAmerica.com, where you can also bet on college football and many other sports.