barracuda7

Having some doubts about some of the market leaders. Will Grangeclare West handle the heavy ground? He has form on soft but has disappointed when encountering heavy. One at a tasty price who looks very interesting is Intense Raffles, who has a great course record with 3 wins and a 2nd from 4 runs. The 2nd was over CD in this race last year when 2nd to Nick Rocket, beaten 3/4 length, giving him 3 lb. Yes, he has disappointed since, but his mark has now dropped 3 lb from last year's Grand National to 148 (if he makes the cut). This could be some of the reason, and I'd be confident in this race and then the National being his targets all season. Other pluses are he runs well in heavy going and he is still only 8, who hasn't had a huge amount of racing.