GRAND NATIONAL RUNNERS & ODDS 2022
Weight Worries
In the last 10 years just three winners carried more than 11st. None carried top weight.
The 2022 Grand National will be held at Aintree Racecourse on Saturday, April 9th at 5.15pm. Sponsored by Randox Health, it is a UK handicap steeplechase over 4 miles 514 yards with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps.
The prize fund for the Grand National is £1,000,000 which makes it the most valuable jump race in Europe. 600 million people will watch the race in over 140 countries with more than 70,000 in attendance at Aintree on the day.
40 horses and their jockeys will line-up in what is the ultimate test in British horse racing. The Grand National course has much larger fences than normal. The Chair, Valentine’s Brook, Foinavon, Becher’s Brook and the Canal Turn are just some of the famous fences that runners and rider need to navigate in the race.
Which horse will you be cheering on? Check out our full guide to all the Grand National 2022 runners – Click Here
GALVIN
Goes into this season on the back of five straight wins, including the National Hunt Challenge Cup over 3m6f at the Cheltenham Festival.
NO: | FORM: 111-12 | AGE: 7 | WEIGHT: UNKNOWN | JOCKEY: UNKNOWN | TRAINER: G. Elliott
ANY SECOND NOW
Was well liked and heavily backed to do well in 2021. And so he did, finishing in 3rd place and setting himself up nicely for another run in the Grand National 2022.
NO: | FORM: 99P13- | AGE: 9 | WEIGHT: UNKNOWN | JOCKEY: UNKNOWN | TRAINER: T. Walsh
RUN WILD FRED
Was entered but didn’t make the cut for the National. But at just 7-years-old will definitely be back for the 2022 Grand National, especially as he also finished 2nd in the Irish Grand National in April.
NO: | FORM: 55222- | AGE: 7 | WEIGHT: UNKNOWN | JOCKEY: UNKNOWN | TRAINER: D. Foster
MINELLA TIMES
Ran straight into the history books when partnered with Rachael Blackmore who became the first female jockey to win the Grand National. If the duo return for the Grand National 2022, expect them to go as the big favourites.
NO: | FORM: 1221- | AGE: 8 | WEIGHT: UNKNOWN | JOCKEY: UNKNOWN | TRAINER: H. De Bromhead
IWILLDOIT
Winner of the Welsh Grand National in December 2021, Iwilldoit is proving to be quite the stable star for Welsh trainer Sam Thomas and could make another splash at Aintree in April.
NO: | FORM: 273-11 | AGE: 8 | WEIGHT: UNKNOWN | JOCKEY: UNKNOWN | TRAINER: S. Thomas
FARCLAS
Farclas always looked like a Grand National style horse, especially on the back of his Glenfarclas run at Cheltenham. And he did get around but had to settle for fifth place. But he’s young so the Grand National 2022 will definitely be more suited to him.
NO: | FORM: 53425- | AGE: 7 | WEIGHT: UNKNOWN | JOCKEY: UNKNOWN | TRAINER: D. Foster
BURROWS SAINT
Burrows Saint gave trainer Willie Mullins his first Irish Grand National win in 2019. However, he couldn’t give trainer Willie Mullins his second Grand National winner since Hedgehunter in 2005, instead connections had to settle for 4th place.
NO: | FORM: 2624- | AGE: 8 | WEIGHT: UNKNOWN | JOCKEY: UNKNOWN | TRAINER: W. Mullins
SECRET REPRIEVE
Secret Reprieve was a convincing winner of the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow in January 2021 and was entered for the National. However, with fewer horses getting withdrawn than anticipated, he narrowly missed out on a place and didn’t make the cut. Should be back for the Grand National 2022!
NO: | FORM: 2/F11- | AGE: 7 | WEIGHT: UNKNOWN | JOCKEY: UNKNOWN | TRAINER: E Williams
CASTLEBAWN WEST
Last seen racing back in December 2020 when beating Minella Times at Leopardstown, Castlebawn West is another Willie Mullins horse with a potentially bright future. If he has a good season he could be one to watch for the 2022 Grand National.
NO: | FORM: 4U/31- | AGE: 8 | WEIGHT: UNKNOWN | JOCKEY: UNKNOWN | TRAINER: W. Mullins
SNOW LEOPARDESS
On terrific form, Snow Leopardess has already won at Bangor and Aintree in the Becher Chase this season. May head back to Cheltenham first but now proven over the Grand National fences we may see her back again in April 2022.
NO: | FORM: 246-11 | AGE: 9 | WEIGHT: UNKNOWN | JOCKEY: UNKNOWN | TRAINER: C. Longsdon
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Ratings Explained
We give each horse a rating based on how closely it matches the past trends and statistics of previous winners
Unlikely to mount a serious challenge.
Could place with a slice of luck.
A strong eachway chance and could even win it.
Odds listed on this page are antepost and taken from Paddy Power on 30/12/21. Check the odds with your Bookmaker before placing a bet as fluctuations can occur. Full Terms and Conditions for the promotional bet offers can be found on the respective websites – please read them before signing up.
Race News & Updates
Bookmakers across the UK anticipate that over £250m in bets will be staked on the 2022 Grand National from millions of customers. Only a few of those placing bets will manage to back the winner on the day. Will you be one of them?
Some people will take a punt on a tip from a friend. Others will pick a runner based on the colour of silks worn by the jockey. While more will lump on a horse for no other reason than they like the name of the horse. In fact when Rule The World won in 2016 a significant amount of people who had backed it did so because it was their favourite Take That song!
Being more strategic about your choice of a horse only involves a little extra work. Read the racing news and study the trends and statistics that have emerged over the last ten years and try to determine patterns that will help whittle down your selections.
Only three winners carried more than 11-01 and they were Tiger Roll in 2019 (11-05), Many Clouds in 2015 (11-09) and Neptune Colognes in 2012 (11-06).
Six of the last ten winners were 9, 10 or 11 years old. Minella Times in 2021, Tiger Roll in 2018, One For Arthur in 2017 and Many Clouds in 2015 broke that trend as they were all eight years old.
Only one winners went off as the favourite from the last ten Grand Nationals. That was Tiger Roll in 2019 (4/1). It can be argued that racing fans actually backed jockey AP McCoy, more so than the horse! Mon Mome won on 100/1 but he was first since 1967 to do that. In fact the average odds of a winning Grand National horse are around 20/1.
Six winners had at least four seasonal runs before going on to win the Aintree spectacular. The only four who had less were Minella Times in 2021, Ballabriggs in 2011, One For Arthur in 2017 and Tiger Roll in 2019. They had all run three times.
Nine winners had either won or placed in a race at least 3m or longer in the season they won the Grand National. Only one, Auroras Encore had not won or placed on the run-up to the 2013 National.
None of the last 10 winners unseated their jockey in the season they won the Grand National.
Eight of the last ten winners had not fallen in the season they won the Grand National.
Ideally what you’re looking for is a Grand National 2022 Runner that is carrying 11-00 or less, who is 8 or 9 (2014 was the last time a horse older than that won the National).
Generally, when online betting, avoid the favourites and look for those who are priced between 14/1 and 33/1 and who have at least three seasonal runs, with extra consideration for those who have won or placed at 3 miles or more. Tiger Roll was the exception, not the rule.
Or simply tear up the stats and pick a runner because you like its name!
There are sixteen individual fences that need to be jumped in the 2022 Grand National, 14 of them twice as the race is run over two laps of the famous Aintree course.
Fence 6 & 22 – Becher’s Brook
Becher’s Brook is 5 feet high with the landing side between 6 inches and 10 inches lower than the takeoff side and is named after Captain Martin Becher who fell there in the first Grand National and took shelter in the small brook running along the landing side of the fence while the remainder of the field thundered over.
Fence 7 & 23 – Foinavon
Foinavon is 4 feet 6 inches and is one of the smallest fences on the course. It was named in 1984 after the 1967 winner who avoided a mêlée at the fence to go on and win the race at outside odds of 100/1.
Fence 8 & 24 – Canal Turn
The Canal Turn is 5 ft high and is known for it’s difficult 90-degree left turn immediately after landing. Jockey Richard Pitman said of this fence “you can win or lose a Grand National at the Canal Turn, because any length you can gain in the air is more economical than having to gallop it.”
Fence 9 & 25 – Valentine’s
Valentine’s is 5 feet high with a 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) brook and was named after a horse called Valentine who was reputed to have jumped the fence hind legs first in 1840.
Between Fences 12 & 13 – Melling Road
A famous part of the course located between fences 12 and 13 when the runners cross it near to the Anchor Bridge, a popular vantage point since the earliest days of the race.
Fence 15 – The Chair
One of the most difficult fences on the course, The Chair is 5 feet 2 inches high but is preceded by a 6 ft wide ditch and Grand National Runners only jump this once, on the first lap. The fence was originally the location where a distance judge sat in the earliest days of the race. The practise was done away with but the monument where the chair stood is still there.
Fence 16 – Water Jump
The Water Jump is 2 feet 6 inches and is the second fence that runners only jump once during the race. The Water Jump was one of the most popular jumps on the course but over the years, The Chair has overshadowed it in popularity.
Once all the fences have been jumped the runners and riders head for the home straight which is one of the longest in the United Kingdom at 494 yards and one that many potential winners have had victory snatched away!
