Way back in 1982 Grittar became the first hunter chaser of the modern era to win the Grand National when partnered by 48-year-old amateur rider Dick Saunders to a famous Aintree success. This year Trust Fund, a very smart hunter chaser himself, may attempt to be the first this millennium to repeat the feat, writes Elliot Slater.

Many Grand National Betting punters fail to take seriously the prospects of a hunter chaser winning the world’s greatest steeplechase, but when you get a very high class hunter chaser, they can be well worth a place in the line-up. Richard Barber’s Trust Fund has little to prove having won the Fox Hunters’ Trophy at Aintree last year, jumping brilliantly before holding on gamely to outpoint course specialist Christie Beamish by four lengths, under Tom Greenall.

Trust Fund, a 12-year-old, has run well throughout his career over distances beyond four miles, jumps very soundly and prefers a decent surface; he would be an unlikely starter in the case of very soft ground. Having beaten 19 rivals at Chepstow prior to his Aintree victory where 29 others were left toiling in his wake, Trust Fund then went to Cheltenham where he justified odds-on with a never-say-die effort to win on the nod from former classy staying chaser Take The Stand.

Not seen out yet this term, Trust Fund is a horse who can run very well after an extended break and seems to get on particularly well with Tom Greenall, whose father Lord Daresbury owns the near veteran, who although knocking on a bit has actually only raced twenty times during his seven season career.

Available at a best priced 100/1 with Grand National Odds, Trust Fund might well give those interested in backing a long shot a seriously good run for their money and could go close to reviving memories of 1982 in attempting to put the hunter chase fraternity back in the Grand National spotlight.

When multi-millionaire racehorse owner Graham Wylie paid 200,000 guineas for Abbeybraney at public auction in November 2008, he bought the horse specifically with the John Smith’s Grand National in mind, writes Elliot Slater.

A classy performer in his native Ireland, Abbeybraney had only narrowly failed to beat the smart Notre Pere in a Grade 1 event at Leopardstown and made a good start this side of the Irish Sea when chasing home Barbers Shop in a listed contest at Sandown.

Johnston’s gelding was then installed as one of the market leaders for the Welsh Grand National, but sadly the 10-year-old suffered a setback the week before the contest and was out of action for 11 months until returning to run a good third to the useful Weapons Amnesty at Newcastle in November. His subsequent success at Hexham at least showed that he remains sound and could be on the way back to recovering his best form.

Although capable of handling very soft ground, Abbeybraney is probably one of the better Grand National Horses on a decent surface and the prospect of a dry spell leading up to the Aintree meeting in April must enhance his chances of getting involved. A bigger challenge will be to first make the cut for the marathon spectacular as off an allocated weight of 10st 5lbs he appears to be in some danger of being left on the sidelines, needing at least 20 horses above him in the list to be withdrawn before the final declaration stage.

A thorough stayer, Abbeybraney is reportedly pleasing connections in his build up towards a tilt at the Aintree showpiece and could well warm up with a crack at the marathon National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. A good show at Prestbury Park could see his current Aintree Grand National Betting odds of 66/1 being slashed, but there will remain a doubt until only days before the event as to whether or not he will be granted a place in the Grand National starting line-up.

When the John Smith’s Grand National weights were made public in mid-February trainer Mouse Morris’s reaction was one of barely disguised disgust and he made it clear that the 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner was a very doubtful runner, writes Elliot Slater.

I’m sure we have all said things in the heat of the moment that we regret later, and it does appear that Morris is beginning to have second thoughts on the matter. The fact that the majority of firms have re-introduced the in-form veteran into their 2010 Grand National Prices lists at around 20/1, suggests that the vibes emanating from County Tipperary are growing more positive by the day.

It would be great for the Grand National itself if the former Gold Cup winner were to take his chance. Having been counted out as a light of former days, the 11-year-old has come back to form with a vengeance this term since being switched to hurdles, winning two Grade 2 events in recent starts and showing tremendous zest for a fight. A crack at the Ladbrokes World Hurdle could well be a warm-up for a tilt at the Aintree marathon, where even with 11st 1lbs, the gelding could be very competitive if he stays (despite his trainer’s protestations).

In 32 starts under rules War Of Attrition has never fallen, and as well as the Gold Cup, has won six other graded races, including the Grade 1 Swordlestown Novices Chase and the Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup. His career prize money already exceeds a superb £700,000.

Having spent much of the season running over timber to rekindle his enthusiasm, the unique challenge of the Grand National weather fences could easily spark a similarly successful reaction from a horse who has proven time and again that he really is a star performer.

Despite the much voiced frustration of Mouse Morris when the weights for the 2010 Grand National were declared on Feb 16th, the prolific trainer has not yet removed his only entry, War of Attrition, from the big race.

The deadline for the first official scratchings for the race was on march 2nd and it transpired that War of Attrition was not withdrawn which came as a surprise to many including the bookmakers who had previously removed him from their ante-post odds offerings.

With War still in contention it left 98 still in the running as 13 were withdrawn including Irish Invader, Beroni, One Cool Cookie, Kilcrea Castle, Darkness, Siegemaster and Taranis, who was reported lame on Wednesday. There were no real shocks and very little has changed ante-post as all of the favourites are still on to run the race on Saturday April 10th.

The next date for scratchings is March 22nd at which time Morris will have had longer to consider what is best for War of Attrition and despite his allocated weight of 11-01 he may still be in with a very good chance on the day. Paddy Power currently have him at odds of 16/1 putting him as eighth favourite to win so maybe it’s worth the gamble to keep him in!

Big Fella Thanks was always an ante-post favourite with the bookies for the 2010 Grand National but after his winning performance today at Newbury, in the Raymond Mould Supporting Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase, where he romped home, he has now trumped Tricky Trickster with Paddy Power to become the 8/1 horse to beat on April 10th.

Speculation has been rife as to whether or not Paul Nicholls can finally win a Grand National and his hopes seem to have originally been pinned on Tricky Trickster but this afternoon, stable mate Big Fella Thanks proved his weight in gold when he pipped another stable mate, Pasco with Ruby Walsh, to the winning post with Barry Geraghty on board.

Walsh had looked very comfortable and confident on Pasco but not as much as Geraghty on Big Fella Thanks, who started the race 8/1 odds, as he shot passed and took a narrow lead after Pasco pecked on landing after the third last.

This win was considered a warm-up for Big Fella Thanks and even Nicholls was surprised that he had won having admitted after the race that he had expected Pasco to bring home the win. He has since confirmed that both horses will be going to Aintree – BFT in the National and Pasco in the Topham.

With Nicholls now sitting on the first and second ante-post favourites for the Grand National it would appear that almost nothing can stop his current winning streak but the Grand National is a notoriously difficult race and anything can, and usually does, happen on the day!

It seems that lately, Paul Nicholls can do no wrong when it comes to training high profile winners and he’s odds on favourite to be be top trainer for Cheltenham in a couple of weeks with notable runners such as Tricky Trickster, Denman and Kauto Star all under his guidance.

His challenge for the Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, which started off being six strong with Denman, Kauto Star, My Will, Taranis, Tricky Trickster and What a Friend has been reduced to five after it emerged on Wednesday that Taranis had met with a setback, and will miss the Festival.

Although he was never considered the favourite and realistically had an uphill battle if he was to make an impact with other contenders such as Cooldine and Imperial Commander still in the running as well as the epic battle between Denman and Kauto Star, he was generally about fifth favourite with the bookies on about 20/1 with most of them.

Despite his successful comeback from serious injury in the Argento Chase at Cheltenham last month he was taken out of the Gold Cup and Grand National entries after an ultra-sound scan revealed he had suffered a fracture of a bony muscle attached to the femur, just below the hip.

This, of course, also rules him out of the 2010 Grand National where hopes were high for him and as it stands, Nicholls is just hoping that he can get him back on track for next season.

With the closing date for Grand National 2010 entries fast approaching, trainers are now having to make the tough decisions as to whether or not they plan to enter their horses into the big race which takes place on April 10th 2010 at Aintree.

Trainer Charlie Longsdon has already decided that Palypso De Creek will be given an entry in a bid for the biggest success of his career. The seven-year-old is already familiar with the Grand National course at Aintree from his participation in the Totesport Becher Chase in November when he finished in fourth place.

More recently he finished second at Haydock on Jan 23rd from a field of 12 when he was paired with Tom Siddall so overall things are looking pretty promising for the young horse.

Longsdon said “We are very pleased with his Haydock run at the weekend…We will enter him in races like the William Hill Chase and the Kim Muir, but it is too early to say for certain where he will run.”

Ante-post odds are available with Betfair but just bare in mind that the Grand National is still a long way away in terms of horse racing and the entry date hasn’t even closed yet so you may lose your stake if you bet on a horse that ultimately does not run on the day.

Air Force One hasn’t raced competitively since April 2009, when he ran at Punchestown but trainer Charlie Mann has decided to take a chance on him for the 2010 Grand National following a positive and pleasing workout for Noel Fehily at Kempton.

The injury prone German eight year old has had several ups and downs in his career but Charlie Mann told racingpost.com on Tuesday: “Air Force One has endured all sorts of problems, including with a hock, but he worked like a dream over a mile and a half at Kempton. There is no doubt he’s on the way back.”

Part of his rehabilitation to get him back on form included time at the Equine Service Centre at Inglesham in Wiltshire, where he was exercised regularly on a water treadmill, that coupled with his steady performance for Noel Fehily and Mann said “He is ready for a run, but having got this far I’m not going to risk him on very soft ground. He may start off in the Aon Chase at Newbury because he needs a small field to boost his confidence.

He was initially listed for the Grand National last year but ultimately didn’t make the final cut of forty starters. This year he has been registered for the Cheltenham Gold Cup where he has ante post odds of 66/1 with Paddy Power and Mann hopes that he will then go on and compete in the 2010 Grand National.

Seven year old Arbor Supreme is a progressive Irish handicapper who had three wins in 2008 and had a fairly great season in 2009 also. He began to show huge promise when he came first in his consecutive race entries, the Dunboyne Castle Hotel & Spa Handicap Chase at Punchestown in April 2008 followed by the Porterstown Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse in November.

His solid form including a good third place at Down Royal in March, where he travelled well on soft ground over 3m 2f, demonstrated to all that he is a game stayer. This achievement provided him with odds of 12-1 for the Irish Grand National Chase, where he was up against several top horses. He only managed to come a disappointing 14th, but made up for it when he came third in the Pat Taaffe Handicap Chase at the Punchestown Festival in May, to Ambobo and Vic Venturi, when ridden by Ruby Walsh.

Owned by JP McManus and trained by Willie Mullins, it comes as no surprise that Arbor Supreme is a likely candidate for the 2010 Grand National at Aintree with antepost odds of 25/1 on Paddy Power and 30/1 on Betfair. He has won over distances in Ireland in particular, so his stamina is not questionable, and he might not be the best on firm ground, but he has proved himself to be well capable on good and soft ground. He is definitely considered to be an improving young stayer who could become one of Ireland’s high hopes for Grand National glory in April 2010.

Trained by Paul Nicholls and usually paired with jockey Sam Thomas, he is almost certainly in contention for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March but whether Thomas rides him again or Ruby Walsh changes his allegiance from Kauto Star remains to be seen. Paddy Power are sure Ruby Walsh will remain loyal to Kauto Star this March and they’re currently offering 2-9 that Ruby rides Kauto Star and 11-4 Denman. And what a pair to be able to choose from, with Kauto Star will be aiming for a third Gold Cup, and Denman for his second.

Betfair are currently taking ante-post bets on Denman to win the 2010 Grand National but I imagine that Nicholls won’t be making any kind of definite commitment on that score until much closer to the race though if he enters him the betting will go through the roof, especially as he could potentially be up against Tricky Trickster, the Nigel Twiston-Davies contender, who also heavily tipped to pull out the performance of a lifetime in the race.

For all ante-post odds on the 2010 Grand National visit Paddy Power or Betfair.