Walsh decision causes movement in Grand National odds

On His Own is now just 14/1 in the Grand National odds as the horse has now been confirmed as the mount of Ruby Walsh for Aintree.

Walsh was scheduled to ride ante-post favourite Prince De Beauchene, but injury has since resulted in his removal from the 40-strong field.

This left Walsh with a predicament as there were three other horses vying for his services – Seabass trained by his father Ted, On His Own from the Willie Mullins team or the Paul Nicholls-trained Neptune Collonges.

Walsh has opted for On His Own after the horse showed some promise on the gallops this week, but there are doubts about whether the horse will be at his best on a left-handed track.

Furthermore, with only six chase starts, On His Own looks mightily inexperienced for Aintree and it is hard not to accept that the horse was the second strong from the Mullins yard.

Therefore, the early thoughts are that Walsh has his work cut out winning the Grand National this year and this also does not bode well for the pair he turned down, effectively dismissing their chances.

Seabass would have perhaps been the better option, as he will arrive at Aintree on a seven-race winning streak.

Ruby’s sister Katie will instead ride Seabass and the pair have already teamed up to win handicap chases in Ireland this season.

The mount is a strong one for Katie as a first Grand National ride and the only doubt about Seabass is whether he truly has the stamina to see out 4m4f.

Neptune Collonges should have no stamina issues for jockey Daryl Jacob, but it does seem that the grey has been allocated too much weight to win the Grand National, especially when comparing form with Giles Cross.

Both have decent each-way chances though, with Seabass 14/1 and Neptune Collonges 25/1.