Just a few days remain till we find out who will be the 2023 Grand National winner, with all the ante-post favourites still in the reckoning after the five-day declarations were announced.
Quick Wave and Royal Pagaille were amongst the more notable horses to be scratched, leaving 50 runners which will eventually be whittled down to the final 40. The next withdrawals are expected to include Gevrey and Defi Blue, who both finished in the top three in Easter Monday’s Irish Grand National.
Of those that are expected to make it to Aintree, the favourite Corach Rambler, Delta Work and Gaillard Du Mesnil will all head to the Grand National off the back of wins at the Cheltenham Festival. Those victories may yet prove something of a poisoned chalice though, given there have only been three horses to win at the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National in the same season since back in 1961.
Others expected to run include Noble Yeats, Any Second Now and Longhouse Poet, who all finished in the top six places last year. The Virtual Grand National may throw some alternatives into the mix, while those looking for an outsider may want to consider Enjoy D’allen, Diol Ker and Minella Trump, after a ‘supercomputer’ claimed they were the most likely winners based on past trends that include everything from age and weight through to even the owner’s name.
