2022 Welsh Grand National Tips
Quick Wave has secured back to back victories and looks to have a lively chance when it comes to the 2022 Coral Welsh Grand National. The nine-year-old won the Winners Wear Cavani Menswear London National Handicap Chase at Sandown Racecourse on 3 December, with this coming after nearly a year away from the track.
Ask Me Early is trained by Harry Fry and is more favourably weighted by the handicapper, with the horse finishing third in the Paul Ferguson Jumpers To Follow Handicap Chase in early November, while the eight-year-old has previously scored a number of successes at Chepstow to show he can act at the course.
The Big Dog returned after nearly a year away from racing to claim a win at Limerick in late October. Sent off at 16/1, he delighted his backers when winning a National Handicap Chase and there came another surprise win when obliging at Navan when fending off a number of quality horses in the Bar One Racing Troytown Handicap Chase.
The Galloping Bear is also trading at single figure odds and there was plenty to like about his win in the Surrey National Handicap Chase back in January when the horse lined up at Lingfield Park. Pats Fancy is a seven-year-old trained by Rebecca Curtis who might come on from a seasonal appearance at Chepstow.
2021 Welsh Grand National Betting Tips
The Coral Welsh Grand National Handicap Chase takes place at Chepstow Racecourse on 27 December, with a couple of horses currently trading at single figure prices. However, the nature of the race is that it’s a wide open encounter which is run over three miles, six-and-a-half furlongs, with Ask Me Early and Secret Reprieve the horses most fancied by punters right now.
Ask Me Early is trained by Harry Fry and he’s had an impressive strike rate thus far, with the horse winning a Novice Hurdle at Exeter in early November. It appears that wind surgery has had the desired effect, with Sean Bowen giving the runner a brilliant spin beforehand when winning a handicap chase at Uttoxeter.
Meanwhile, Secret Reprieve is another lively contender and this one is trained by Evan Williams who will hope to win the Welsh National in his own country. The seven-year-old hasn’t run for the best part of a year, although James Bowen rode the horse to a victory in the Welsh National Trial Handicap Chase.
Can a Paul Nicholls Runner Win the 2021 Welsh Grand National?
Threeunderthrufive might only be six years old, although this runner is bidding for a consecutive hat-trick of victories and he might just be the best chance that Paul Nicholls has when it comes to the 2021 Welsh National. Having finished second in a Novices’ Chase at Chepstow, the horse has since recorded wins at Exeter and Cheltenham, with the recent win occurring over three miles.
Highland Hunter finished fifth in the 2021 Midlands Grand National and the eight-year-old certainly looks as though he has the stamina to last the distance when it comes to soft going at Chepstow Racecourse. The low win rate is something of a concern, although there was a victory at Carlisle in a handicap chase at odds of 11/8.
Perhaps it will be Next Destination who ends up in the winners’ enclosure, with the horse having finished either first or second in his previous four outings. Second place in the Sam Vestey National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices' Chase was a decent showing when the horse was runner-up behind Galvin.
Potters Corner and Yala Enki Head the Betting
While the racecard and the betting market will take shape as we get closer to the start of the race, it appears as though Potters Corner is a likely runner and the ten-year-old was recently seen running a decent race in the Cross Country Chase at the November Cheltenham meeting, with the Christian Williams-trained charge finishing in third place.
That run was much needed considering the horse hadn’t been seen at the track for nearly a year, with Williams hoping that Potters Corner comes on for that run and we should remember that the horse won last year’s Welsh National after going off a mark of 10-4, with the runner touching off Truckers Lodge and Yala Enki.
Yala Enki could also return to Chepstow Racecourse for another bite of the cherry and there wasn’t a huge gap between the horse and the winner of the Welsh National a year ago, with the Paul Nicholls runner capable of finishing in the frame again after such a creditable run on heavy ground.
Indeed, the ten-year-old showed plenty of class when finishing second in the recent Planteur At Chapel Stud Handicap Chase at Cheltenham Racecourse over three miles and three furlongs, with the runner only getting touched off by a short head.
Ramses De Teillee was the winner of that particular race and has therefore announced his credentials to run a big race at Chepstow, with the David Pipe-trained horse impressing in that Cheltenham race despite some erratic jumping and perhaps a smoother completion of obstacles could see him oblige by a bigger margin.
The History of the Welsh Grand National
It’s fair to say that this is the biggest horse race that takes place in Wales, with Chepstow Racecourse hosting this event since 1949 and it always has pride of place on 27 December which makes it a festive race fixture for racegoers looking to enjoy some spectacles during their holiday.
Potters Corner, Raz De Maree and Elegant Escape are among the most recent winners on the Welsh National race card, although Native River was a high profile victor in 2016 and the Welsh horse then went on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2018.
The race was first inaugurated in 1895 and therefore has a long and proud history, with the race first taking place at Ely Racecourse in Cardiff, with the course closing shortly before the Second World War and it shortly afterwards moved to Chepstow.
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