London National Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

2024 London National Preview

Established in 2003, the London National is scheduled to take place in December of each year at the Sandown racecourse, run over a stamina-testing trip of three miles and five furlongs the race is open to runners who are aged five or older. Being scheduled in December, this race can sometimes be run on testing ground which can make it a very stamina-demanding race so keep that in mind.

London National Information:

• London National Past Winners
• London National Trainer Statistics
• London National Jockey Statistics

We also have a dedicated Sandown tips page that will cover this race as well as all of the other races on the day of the race, see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are predicting to win this race and the others on the cards. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Other Principal Races at Sandown Racecourse section for links to these.

How competitive is the London National market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 19 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2020 when the race had an over-round of 110%. The race in 2015 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 131%, whilst on average over the last 19 renewals of the London National, the over-round has been 118%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £118 which is bet.

London National Trends:

• 2024 London National Trends
• London National Trend Analysis

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 19 if you had followed the winner of the London National next time out then you would have backed a total of 2 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -5.00. Before placing your bet on the 2024 London National see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.

Over the last 19 renewals, it was the Paul Nicholls trained Theres No Panic ridden by Daryl Jacob who set the fastest winning time in the London National, the runner won the race in a time of 7:30.80 was set when winning the race in 2013. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Paul Nicholls and jockey Freddie Gingell with Truckers Lodge who set the slowest winning time, the race-winning time was 8:22.17 in the 2023 renewal.

These are the top three quickest-run London National over the last 19 renewals:

1. Theres No Panic (7:30.80) in 2013
2. Rocky Creek (7:34.50) in 2016
3. Caroles Destrier (7:35.90) in 2015

London National Past Winners

Here are the London National past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. The trainer of the horse at the time of winning the London National as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.

Race Notes: The 2019 renewal was declared void after jockeys failed to acknowledge the yellow flag.

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the London National have been based:

• GB: 19 winners with an additional 32 placings from 175 runners
• FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 6 runners

London National Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the London National over the last 19 renewals is Paul Nicholls who has won the race four times with those four winners coming from Theres No Panic (2013), Rocky Creek (2016), Highland Hunter (2021) and Truckers Lodge (2023). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the London National are Tom George (3 wins) and Neil Mulholland (2 wins).

Here are some of the top London National trainer statistics over the last 19 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

London National Jockey Statistics

Here are some of the top London National jockey statistics over the last 19 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

2024 London National Trends

Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): PU, 4, F, F, 3, PU, PU, 2, 1, 7, (4, 6), (8, 10), 2, 2, 4, 4, 2, 4, UR

The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.

• 19 / 19 (72%) - No bigger than 14/1
• 19 / 19 (81%) - Within the first 8 of the market
• 19 / 19 (81%) - No bigger than 66/1 (Career)
• 19 / 19 (81%) - Ran over 2m4f - 3m4½f (Last Win)
• 19 / 19 (82%) - Made 14 - 41 starts (Career)
• 19 / 19 (83%) - No bigger than 33/1 (Debut)
• 19 / 19 (83%) - Carried 149 - 167lbs (Last Win)
• 19 / 19 (87%) - Had 1 - 10 placings (Going)
• 19 / 19 (87%) - Had 6 - 18 placings (Career)
• 19 / 19 (88%) - Furthest ran 3m1f - 4m2½f
• 19 / 19 (89%) - Fewer than 3 wins (1 Year)
• 18 / 19 (70%) - Achieved a TS of 61+ (LTO)
• 18 / 19 (78%) - No bigger than 14/1 (Career Win)
• 18 / 19 (83%) - No more than 2 falls (Career)
• 18 / 19 (83%) - Achieved an RPR of 84+ (LTO)

Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Sandown racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the London National. If you are looking to place on a bet this race well in advance of the actual running, then there may be an ante-post market available for you to place your bet. If you are unfamiliar with this type of betting then head over to the OLBG Betting School and read our Ante-Post Horse Racing article which explains how ante-post betting works.

Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the London National by adding a tip on the race here.

London National Trend Analysis

The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +20.00 is when runners wore no equipment. The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a race worth £3,000 on debut, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-36.

The course which has produced the most winners of the London National is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 4 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Wincanton, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Wincanton last time out.

The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 18 winners from a total of 176 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 5 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the London National:

• Presenting (3 Wins)
• Sure Blade (2 Wins)

Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have been disappointed with multiple attempts but no wins in the London National, that stallion is Supreme Leader who has failed to produce a winner from 5 runners.

Looking at the winning odds over the last 19 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Benbens in 2017, winning for Nigel Twiston-Davies at odds of 14/1 under the guidance of Mr Zac Baker. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 19 renewals there has been 1 winning favourite in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2024 London National remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.

Other Principal races at Sandown racecourse

Here are some other notable races at the Sandown racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.

Races in January

• Veterans Chase Series Final

Races in February

• Scilly Isles Novices Chase

Races in March

• Betfair Novices Handicap Chase
• Imperial Cup

Races in April (Classic Trial Day)

• Classic Trial
• Esher Cup
• Gordon Richards Stakes
• Sandown Mile

Races in April (Jump Finale)

• bet365 Gold Cup
• Celebration Chase
• Oaksey Chase
• Select Hurdle

Races in July

• Eclipse Stakes
• Sprint Stakes

Races in December

• Henry VIII Novices Chase
• Tingle Creek