Coral Welsh Grand National guide
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A look ahead to the Coral Welsh Grand National
The Coral Welsh Grand National is one of the racing highlights of the festive period as a full field slog it out for glory at Chepstow.
It is the feature of ITV Racing’s Christmas coverage on December 27 with the race, which is also broadcast on Sky Sports Racing, set to go off at 2.50pm.
What is the Coral Welsh Grand National?
Chepstow’s biggest race day of the year is also Wales’ most valuable contest with up to £150,000 in prize money up for grabs and plenty of prestige on offer to the winner.
The race is run over an extended 3m6f and 23 fences and often is a gruelling race, with the deep mid-winter ground turning this into a battle with only the strongest of stayers prevailing.
Who has won the Coral Welsh Grand National in the past?
There is a rich role of honour in the race with many of the Coral Welsh Grand National winners going on to win even more big races in their career, including the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Synchronised (2010) and Native River (2016) are just two who have triumphed in Wales before going on to win the Cheltenham Festival blue riband in 2012 and 2018 respectively, while Burrough Hill Lad did the Coral Welsh Grand National/Gold Cup double in 1983/84 for trainer Jenny Pitman.
Others use the Coral Welsh Grand National to test their staying suitability for the Grand National at Aintree.
Corbiere and Earth Summit used the Chepstow race as a stepping stone towards success on Merseyside in the same season, while Silver Birch won the Coral Welsh Grand National for Paul Nicholls in 2004 before storming to Aintree glory when in the care of Gordon Elliott in 2007.
The anomaly is the 2003 Coral Welsh Grand National winner Bindaree, who scored at Chepstow after taking home the Grand National trophy in 2002.
Which trainers do well in the Coral Welsh National?
Prior to the 2022 edition, Welsh trainers had won the race the previous three seasons with Sam Thomas’ Iwilldoit triumphing in 2021, following in the footsteps of Secret Reprieve who obliged favourite backers for Evan Williams in 2020 and Potters Corner winning for Christian Williams in 2019.
Potters Corner was also ridden by a Welsh jockey for Welsh owners, the first time that has happened since 1928.
Potters Corner also went on to win the Virtual Grand National in 2020 when Covid-19 curtailed Aintree’s spring Festival.
Colin Tizzard, Nicholls and Jonjo O’Neill have all won the race twice this century, with Tizzard the one to taste most recent success, saddling the winner in 2016 and 2018.
Venetia Williams is also worth keeping an eye on considering her proficiency in training staying chasers, especially those who appreciate real cut in the ground.
She won the race in 2014 with Emperor’s Choice but has also had eight horses place in the race from her last 20 entrants.
Martin Pipe won the race five times in the late 1980s and early 1990s but although saddling many fancied runners, his son David is yet to get on the scoreboard from 22 Coral Welsh Grand National runners since taking over the licence at Pond House.
What type of horse wins the Coral Welsh Grand National?
The one thing every Coral Welsh Grand National winner needs to be is a dour stayer and the south Wales track takes no prisoners.
Guts and a willing attitude will come to the fore once the horses swing the home turn and face up to the final five fences up the Chepstow home straight.
It can often pay to side with a horse with a touch of class, one that will have zero issue shouldering a hefty weight in testing conditions.
Native River (pictured below) is a prime example of this, with the future Gold Cup winner carrying a whopping 11st 12lb to victory in 2016 while stablemate Elegant Escape overcame a mark of 151 and 11st 8lb in 2018.
The other way to go is to spot the unexposed horse set to take their chance off a featherweight at the bottom of the handicap, with the last two winners fitting this category.
This also applies to Monbeg Dude, who carried just 10st 1lb to win the 2012 Coral Welsh Grand National and went on to run in the Gold Cup later that season.
He returned to Chepstow to finish second in the race off an 18lb higher mark in 2014 before placing in the Grand National at Aintree.
Who could win this year’s Coral Welsh Grand National?
Super Survivor leads the Coral Welsh Grand National betting odds after ante-post favourite Monbeg Genius was scratched from the race due to a foot abscess.
The chaser had led the market since a fine third in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury and appeared to have plenty of the required attributes for the Chepstow marathon, but his name is not among the 22 who remain in contention.
Previous winner Iwilldoit tops the weights with Complete Unknown, The Big Breakaway, The Galloping Bear, Chambard and Autonomous Cloud all set to feature.
All odds and market correct at date of publication
