The 2011 Grand National is fast becoming a family affair
Published:Katie Walsh, sister of top Cheltenham jockey Ruby, will ride out for the first time in a Grand National aboard Our Monty should the Willie Mullins-trained eght-year-old make the entry list.
Our Monty is generally a 66/1 shot but Katie’s form around Aintree isn’t brilliant having fallen with Pomme Tiepy in the Topham last year, and having fallen off Battlefront at Aintree in December.
Our Monty is also 48th in the Grand National entry list and needs eight horses ahead of him to drop out, but should Our Monty take his place as one of the 40 Grand National runners, Katie and Ruby will join Nina and Peter Carberry as the other brother/sister combination.
Ruby has the best ride of the four aboard 8/1 favourite The Midnight Club but Paul is on the highly fancied Backstage who is one of three joint second-favourites at 12/1.
Nina will ride Character Building for the second year running after finishing 7th in the 2010 Grand National, and at 33/1, Nina’s mount offers plenty of each way value considering he is carry 7lb less than last year.
It adds a little extra spice to the Grand National with neither of the brothers wanting to be beaten by their little sister, but a bit of luck always comes in handy around Aintree’s Grand National fences.
As Nina’s Character Building is the only one of the four horses to have successfully completed the Grand National course, it could well be Nina who has the bragging rights come Saturday evening.
The 2011 Grand National will be the biggest betting event of the year and punters should start looking at the ante-post Grand National odds now in order to find the best value.
A £20 stake on Character Building winning the Grand National would return £680. New customers can sign up here for up to £60 in free bets.
