Andy has a fancy for one of the most prestigious jump fixtures of the season in the UK.
Welsh Grand National - 27th December 14.40 Channel 4 Racing
Although it’s not essential, course form over the Welsh venue has to be seen as a positive when analysing the main players in this gruelling test, so with that in mind, FIREBIRD FLYER (best price 16-1) has that box ticked along with many other attributes in making him an attractive bet in this year’s renewal.
For starters, he was a gallant runner-up to Mountainous in this race last year, so we know the demands of this attritional contest clearly play into his strengths and on top of that, he went on to land the Midland Grand National on his final start last season, once again proving that endless stamina is very much his number one quality.
Beginning this campaign in positive fashion, Evan Williams’ charge suggested he’s better than ever when chasing home subsequent impressive Newbury winner Three Faces West – giving him 6lb - and with that initial outing likely to have put a nice edge on the nine-year-old, his prospects appear pretty clear-cut in his bid to go one place better than twelve month ago.
