NRMB on Grand National good news for Commander backers

The Grand National has been hit by a spate of absentees in recent days and therefore some punters will be thankful that they benefited from Ladbrokes’ non-runner money-back promotion.

Previous joint favourite Prince De Beauchene was firstly ruled out with a late injury for the second year running, while Beshabar soon followed suit.

Another three have now joined the withdrawal list, with Wyck Hill, Magnanimity and Tofino Bay all declared non runners.

Ladbrokes started their promotion on March 26th and so punters backing any of this quintet since this date will get their stakes refunded.

And this promotion could still benefit punters in the final days ahead of the Grand National, as further withdrawals can be expected.

Top of those on this list has to be Imperial Commander, who has been a far from a certain runner since he was first entered.

The 12-year-old has already been forced to miss the Cheltenham Gold Cup this season because of a lung infection and it remains unknown if he has sufficiently recovered.

Imperial Commander is well treated if at his best and there are worse 20/1 bets to be had than him, especially with the safety net of a returned stake.

There are two approaches punters could take with this offer, the first is back a doubtful horse already allocated a Grand National spot, like Imperial Commander.

The other is to take a chance on a horse currently outside the confirmed 40, who would sneak in at the foot of the weights if there were a few more non runners declared.

Poker De Sivola (66/1) and Soll (40/1) appear two of the most interesting in this regard and could well have each-way chances if lining up at Aintree.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.