The 2021 Grand National

Yes. All sofas will have to have a spring mechanism that jettisons you into the air every couple of hours....(very Wallace and Grommit’ish.....)
 
I wish jockeys would pull up when they have no chance.the final 3 finishers yesterday were over 100L behind.whats the point.
The days of getting a price just to finish are way gone.its tired horses that can fall and die.and all the good press would have come to nothing.
 
Chapman said this morning on ATR's Sunday Review he had to tell the director of ITV not to hand over to him just yet for Rachel's comments at the end of the race as MInella Times was "wobbling"
 
Next year should be easier to pick the winner.
Cross out all uk runners,anything over 9 yrs of age and all over 11.2.

The irish have had the 1st 4 twice and the first 3 once in the last 3 runnings.and 8yr olds have won,I think 4 recently.
They are thinking of renaming it the irish national.
 
Outsider said:
Next year should be easier to pick the winner.
Cross out all uk runners,anything over 9 yrs of age and all over 11.2.

The irish have had the 1st 4 twice and the first 3 once in the last 3 runnings.and 8yr olds have won,I think 4 recently.
They are thinking of renaming it the irish national.
Click to expand...

I think one of the reasons I ended up backing even more than normal was because we missed last year's race and I wasn't as 'tuned in' as usual in the sense of re-visiting the previous year's one which usually allows me to discount loads of the popular choices at less than 20/1 who had had a go at the race before and/or just weren't well enough handicapped. For example, Anibale Fly (16/1) on both counts yet really fancied him to run well yesterday, and Rock The Kasbah (also 16/1, "place prospects at best").

I think this year a fear factor crept into my thinking. I don't plan to let that happen next time. I think several of the beaten horses will turn up again and won't do any better. The likely exceptions are Farclas who will have turned eight and Any Second Now.
 
Diamond Geezer said:
Chapman said this morning on ATR's Sunday Review he had to tell the director of ITV not to hand over to him just yet for Rachel's comments at the end of the race as MInella Times was "wobbling"
Click to expand...

I think she should have got off him actually - all the comments about caring 'cos they were chucking buckets of water over him, ( more fawning) I thought he was in trouble but thought I was the only one seeing it. Stiff as well bless him, not unexpected but I think she should have got off him even if for a few minutes and see how he was.

As for the race I think it's still an event in the eyes of racing and non racing people: people at my work asking for tips ( I keep telling them they're wasting their time asking me but... ) and it's the only time they do, and they'll be asking me about it this week, 'where did so and so finish, did mine win it, a woman won it... did you expect that etc....is she any good? They all know about my love of the sport and aside from asking about my Muppet and his BB, I am never asked about any other races.
 
Last edited:
I still struggle with backing 8 year olds after backing 9 and 10 year olds for years. When a 7 year old wins I really will give up.
 
I thought they’d started walking horses back through the water sprays that they use for eventers? Or did they decide that wasn’t necessary if the race was ran later? I, too felt worried for the horse but had forgotten about it till I saw a picture of him today looking very tired. I wish I still had friends and work colleagues asking me for for tips for the National. The people I know these days at best tolerate my love at racing and at worst are quite unpleasant.I think that may be why I don’t seem to enjoy the race as much. If I was still working I probably wouldn’t mention the race now. Seems a long time since I used to chat about racing with our patients ( I was a medical receptionist).
 
moe said:
I still struggle with backing 8 year olds after backing 9 and 10 year olds for years. When a 7 year old wins I really will give up.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree.i would never back an eight yr old unless they were a bit classy.but now the race has changed so has the stats.i read that 8/12 were aged 9 to 12 which is a strong stat until you see that the last 3 of the last 4 were 8.it changed my outlook.
 
Many Clouds was still technically a 7 year old when he won I suppose. I know I felt at the time that Hedgehunter just needed another year to mature after he fell in his first National. It just seems like a different race now.
 
moe said:
I thought they’d started walking horses back through the water sprays that they use for eventers? Or did they decide that wasn’t necessary if the race was ran later? I, too felt worried for the horse but had forgotten about it till I saw a picture of him today looking very tired. I wish I still had friends and work colleagues asking me for for tips for the National. The people I know these days at best tolerate my love at racing and at worst are quite unpleasant.I think that may be why I don’t seem to enjoy the race as much. If I was still working I probably wouldn’t mention the race now. Seems a long time since I used to chat about racing with our patients ( I was a medical receptionist).
Click to expand...

The downside being the stick I get when any tip doesn't win.!!! 2 years ago, 2019 the one I really fancied needed rain and I kept saying that but of course it didn't rain and Tiger Roll won and I got stick for weeks after. If I had a Pound for every time I had to say ' IT DIDN'T RAIN and I told you it had to rain , but you ignored that bit and backed him anyway!! ' All ignoring that I said back Frodon for Ryanair at that Cheltenham, and again for last year's KG that 33s was a ridiculous price - Oh Frodon won, YES HE DID - did you back him? Oh no I forgot. Not sure what else a girl can do!
Sands of Mali, October 2018 at Ascot , got his ground I said, back him I said, did they............
One guy who's a legal bod and very good at his job, 2 summers ago ( very few been in the office since last March ) came up to my desk and said ' If I said Encore and Crystal Glass, what would you say? ' Err I'm not sure what would I say? Would you bet on them? Why when are they running? At Ascot on Saturday. Are they, which race? I don't know but one's a sure thing he says. Do you mean Enable and Crystal Ocean I say? Oh that might be them....... Well she's very short I say and likely to win so might be better to do a forecast. What's that he says? So I tell him. What if he beats her he says ( I'd explained that one was a girl and the other one wasn't by now ) well possibly, so do a reverse forecast. What's that he says. I tell him...nope...I tell him again...nope , can you email me with it he says and give me their numbers ( I told him if using Tote.... ) so I do. He goes racing 3 times a year and doesn't bet otherwise. Won £240, £20 note and a box of chocs on my desk on the Monday. No no I said don't be silly...no he says wouldn't have got it if not for you. I say wouldn't have got if they hadn't finished one and two, nothing to do with me! I always told him Raising Sand as well, which he did but he said he still came out down on the day! :(
 
Last edited:
Every year I get the same people crawling out of the woodwork to ask me what’s going to win the National. Every year I say use a pin! :lol:
Actually this year my family all WhatsApped me so I gave them five horses. Including Minella Times, Any Second Now and Farclas. Told them to back them each way. Only my eldest nephew listened to his shrewd aunt and is a very happy lad. The rest all thought they knew better......:whistle:
 
jinnyj said:
Every year I get the same people crawling out of the woodwork to ask me what’s going to win the National. Every year I say use a pin! :lol:
Actually this year my family all WhatsApped me so I gave them five horses. Including Minella Times, Any Second Now and Farclas. Told them to back them each way. Only my eldest nephew listened to his shrewd aunt and is a very happy lad. The rest all thought they knew better......:whistle:
Click to expand...

I send out my ratings and pinstickers guide every year. The family all knows how much time I spend on the form and, while they appreciate my input, they seem to prefer deciding for themselves. I think it's something in the genes. I suppose it would be asking a bit much to expect them all to just row along with my figures and thoughts but they'd be doing fine if they did!
 
jinnyj said:
Every year I get the same people crawling out of the woodwork to ask me what’s going to win the National. Every year I say use a pin! :lol:
Actually this year my family all WhatsApped me so I gave them five horses. Including Minella Times, Any Second Now and Farclas. Told them to back them each way. Only my eldest nephew listened to his shrewd aunt and is a very happy lad. The rest all thought they knew better......:whistle:
Click to expand...

Every year since 2007 I get invited to hospitality at the festival. This year they had a virtual horse racing event on the Wednesday evening where I was asked for a tip the next day. Managed to splutter out Flooring Porter and a couple backed it. The rest said your tips never win although I’ve given them a few winners before (a few more losers it’s true). It’s always the losers that get remembered
Also gave the same crowd Minella Times but that will no doubt be forgotten too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
My experience with colleagues is largely the same. Give them a couple of winners and you're God's gift. Follow it up with a couple of losers and you're a clown.

I do, however, recall two colleagues (separate workplaces) who were the opposite. They completely blanked the losers and kept remembering the winners I gave them. Purely by coincidence, they were school technicians, one male and one female.

The former I remember giving him a few winners, notably one called Go Bananas at a nice price. Years later he was still going on about it. Great guy.

The latter was a lovely, even-tempered woman who absolutely beamed whenever I gave her one (a winner, that is) and whose parting shot to me when I left was along the lines of 'what am I going to do for horses to bet?' but she said it with that lovely smile she had.

Those are the people I prefer to remember.
 
Last edited:
When civilians ask me for winners I default to the unabbreviated version of the greatest truism of the 21st century. NKFA.
 
Two of us at work used to have a nap of the day competition which lasted throughout the season with a slap up pub lunch to finish, loser pays. The boss came in soon after we had started it and caught us studying form. When he found out what we were up to he was a good sport and joined in. “I’ll have the third horse down in the third race of the day at the main meeting” he said. We rubbed our hands in delight and thought of what we were going to have off the menu on him - he won it by a street, though, and I’ve never lived it down.
 
One of my first dates (as teenagers) with the (still) Mrs AC was to a mixed card at Leopardstown on a Friday night. It was her first time (at the races.) I have a memory of Exdirectory winning the Derby trial, so it must have been '78. Novice Hurdle: She liked the colours worn by a particular horse with a 'SWE' suffix on the racecard. I explained, very partronisingly with a soupcon of condensation that Swedish bred horses don't win hurdle races in Ireland and to find a different home for our 50p.

Nearly half a century later I still get 'but you wouldn't let me bet on Sword of Light, what do you know?' Needless to say it had hacked up at some stupid price.
 
Maybe your boss was quite canny barjon. I’m sure I used to be told the third horse down in a handicap was a likely winner and I bet the third race of the day would most likely be a handicap. WHill radio have an ongoing theory about grey number 5’s that do have an uncanny knack of winning.
 
Aye, that’s what we concluded (inevitably handicaps), but it didn’t save our blushes overmuch.
 
moe said:
Maybe your boss was quite canny barjon. I’m sure I used to be told the third horse down in a handicap was a likely winner and I bet the third race of the day would most likely be a handicap. WHill radio have an ongoing theory about grey number 5’s that do have an uncanny knack of winning.
Click to expand...

320 newmarket?
 
Back
Top