Sports Blog 09/04/2015: Race Preview – Grand National, Saturday 11th April 2015

It is almost time for the country to have their yearly flutter on the horses, as the Grand National at Aintree takes place on Saturday 11th April at 4.15pm.

Spreadex has a plethora of spreads and fixed odds ahead of the 2015 racing weekend, including non-runner no bet fixed odds with each way 1/4 odds for the first 4, alongside our Grand National Specials. We are offering a Number of Finishers spread of 16.5-18, with a Winning Distance spread of 6-7 and a 1st to Last Distance spread of 135-145. Spreadex is then offering a flurry of bets on the Irish side of horse racing, with an Irish Winner? (0-100) spread of 17-22 and an Irish Winning Distance x10 spread of 9.5-11, alongside an Irish Trained Performance spread of 20-23 where 50 points are awarded to a winning Irish horse, 20 points to 2nd, 20 points to 3rd and 10 points to fourth.



The big news surrounding the main event is that it will be AP McCoy’s record breaking 20th, and final, appearance at the Grand National, with the Northern Irish jockey mounting Shutthefrontdoor, who is the 7/1 favourite to win the race. However, many feel that the odds are so low for the horse purely for the fairy-tale finish it would provide rather than its chance of winning. Regardless, McCoy has remained the focus ahead of Saturday, and Spreadex is offering some unique bets on the racing legend. We have a McCoy 50-30-20-10 spread of 9-12, where McCoy would be awarded 50, 30, 20 or 10 points respectively for the first 4 places; we also have a McCoy 100-60-30-20-10-5 spread of 21-24 where McCoy receives 100 points for winning the race 60 for 2nd place, 30 for 3rd place, 20 for 4th place, with 10 points for 5th and 5 points for 6th. Finally, Spreadex is offering a McCoy Winning Distance x10 spread of 6-7, with the bet settling at 0 if McCoy fails to win.



Beyond McCoy, the other dominant story surrounds veteran trainer Paul Nicholls. Nicholls’ Rocky Creek is close behind Shutthefrontdoor at 9/1 after winning the Betbright Chase at Kempton, and should be one of the fresher horses on Saturday after avoiding the Cheltenham Festival back in March. However, Rocky Creek isn’t the only Nicholls horse in the running, with Unioniste at 28/1 whilst Mon Parrain and Rebel Rebellion are at 40/1. Due to this strong showing, Spreadex is offering Nicholls-specific spreads: we have a Nicholls 50-30-20-10 of 16-19, a Nicholls 100-60-30-20-10-5 spread of 32-36 and a Nicholls Winning Distance x10 spread of 8.5-9.5.



Looking even further beyond the dual dominance of McCoy and Nicholls, last year’s runner-up Balthazar King is at 10/1, whilst The Druids Nephew, winner of the Festival Trophy Handicap Chase at Cheltenham, is at 12/1. Cause of Causes, trained by Gordon Elliott and the winner of the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham, is at 16/1 whilst the 10 year old Alvarado is at 18/1.

We then have a selection of horses at 20/1: first up is Soll, trained by David Pipe who won the National in 2008 with Comply or Die; next is Al Co, winner of the 2014 Scottish Grand National and a third place finisher in Bangor; then we have Godsmejudge, winner of the Scottish Grand National in 2013 and runner-up in Scotland in 2014; and finally we have Spring Heeled, whose jockey Nick Scholfield finished third in 2013’s Grand National riding Teaforthree. Rounding out the top 12 is Pineaeu de Re, the 2014 Grand National champion, at 22/1 alongside First Lieutenant, whose jockey Nina Carberry is gunning to be the first female rider to win the Grand National, is at 25/1.



Make sure to check back here at Spreadex ahead of the big day for the latest spreads and fixed odds surrounding the 2015 Grand National!