Our expert, Andy Holding, gives his views on the 2022 Grand National playing out.
Grand National
Andy Holding: Fiddlerontheroof, Enjoy D'allen, Longhouse Poet
A Grand National where it’s almost impossible to have a strong view – 9-1 the field tells you all you need to know – but there are three who have a lot of the credentials befitting many other previous winners and they are worth playing against the field.
First port of call is FIDDLERONTHEROOF (best price 16-1) and this consistent performer has the class to give his supporters a decent spin. Placed at Grade 1 and 2 level as a novice, his second season has seen him run tremendous races in two of the most competitive handicaps either side of the new year, and if you look at how he was staying on in the latter stages of the first of those events at Newbury over 3m2f, you’d say he was crying out for further. The fact that he operated really well in a big field, strongly-run environment where the fences come at you thick and fast at the Berkshire track strongly suggests he will cope admirably with the Aintree examination and having missed Cheltenham with a view to coming straight here after a gallant effort under top weight at Ascot back in February, everything about the composition of his challenge appears spot on.
As we know, the Irish raiders have a fine record in the great race in recent times and two from the Emerald Isle who have solid-looking profiles in this year’s renewal are ENJOY D’ALLEN (best price 14-1) and LONGHOUSE POET (best price 16-1).
The former, similarly to last year’s hero Minella Times, finished placed in the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown’s December meeting and since then, JP McManus has saw fit to add to him to his ranks. Completing his preparations with a gentle tootle around in a handicap hurdle back at the same venue a month ago – a tactic used by many previous winners of this race in the past – the son of Network could easily put his relatively small handler on the map. The latter also has quite a few things in his favour, none more so than being housed by Martin Brassil, who won the National with Numbersixvalverde back in 2006. Similar to his previous stablemate, the son of Yeats landed the Thyestes Chase on-route to Aintree glory and the form of this season’s renewal at the Co Kenny venue couldn’t have worked out any better since. A bit of a flop when sent off favourite back over hurdles last time out, in mitigation, the 2m4f journey was way short of his best, but this proper stamina test should be more to his liking, and this lightly-raced sort has all the hallmarks of being well-suited to the rigours of the race.
