Who Are the Early Favorites Ahead of This Year’s Grand National?

The Grand National is one of the biggest horse races in the world, boasting an illustrious history. The 2022 edition will attract a huge audience across the globe as the horses and jockeys compete for £1 million in prize money. Over half of that amount will go to the winner of the race, so there is both fame and fortune on the line at Aintree Racecourse. It is not only the owners who stand to win big on the race – punters also have an opportunity to win by backing the successful horse. Let us take a closer look at some of the early favorites for this year’s Grand National.

When assessing the odds assigned to the winners of the Grand National between 1984 and 2019, the average odds of the winner comes out at just under 22/1. This seems big, and it is worth pointing out the average is heavily skewed by the fact Mon Mome won the 2009 Grand National at odds of 100/1. In terms of the most successful odds, 10/1 was successful four times between 1984 and 2019 and in 2021, Minella Times won at odds of 11/1. So, odds of 10/1 seem like a good place to start when choosing a horse to back at the 2022 Grand National. This immediately brings into contention two horses, as Escaria Ten and Enjoy D’allen are both on offer at 10/1 with the bookmakers.

Gordon Elliott, the trainer of Escaria Ten, has won the Grand National three times in the past, including 2018 and 2019, which is an interesting statistic. Enjoy D’allen is owned by J. P. McManus, who has twice tasted success in the Grand National, including 2021. So, there is plenty to like about both horses and the fact they are priced at 10/1 means they are leading the way in terms of early favorites for this year’s Grand National.

When assessing the early favorites to win the 2022 Grand National, it is worth noting the age of the horses. You must go back to 1940 to find the last time a 7-year-old won the Grand National, and horses over the age of 13 do not have a good record. Between 1984 and 2019, the most common age for a winning horse in the Grand National was 9 years, with 9-year-old horses winning 10 of the races. That brings Delta Work into play as one of the early favorites to win this year’s Grand National. At 9 years of age, Delta Work is a prime candidate to win the 2022 Grand National and is one of the leaders in the betting at 9/1. Delta Work won the Glenfarclas Chase at Cheltenham, beating Tiger Roll, who was forced to settle for second place. We have already mentioned the trainer of Delta Work, Gordon Elliott, and his previous success at the Grand National. Elliot has used the Glenfarclas Chase as preparation for winning Grand National horses in the past and Delta Force has won five Grade One races over fences, making him an early favorite for the Grand National this year.

Irish-based horses have tasted plenty of success in the Grand National over the years and have come out on top in 7 of the last 14 editions. With that in mind, we turn our attention to Longhouse Poet. At 8 years of age, Longhouse Poet is within the age band for previous winners of the Grand National and has beaten Escaria Ten when winning the Goffs Thyestes Handicap Chase in February 2022. At 20/1 in the betting, Longhouse Poet is close to the average winning odds of the Grand National between 1984 and 2019.