Grand National Tips: Andrew Halligan's 3 dark horses for Aintree

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Grand National Dark Horse tips

Minella Cocooner
Beauport
Chantry House

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.

It’s easy to look at this year’s Grand National and make selections like I Am Maximus, Iroko, Intense Raffles, and Stumptown. But we all want to know who the runners are lurking at bigger odds and who is more than capable of outrunning those odds.

Here, Andrew Halligan lays out his top 3 Dark Horses for the Aintree Grand National.

Minella Cocooner

This Willie Mullins-trained gelding, MINELLA COCOONER, has had his eyes set on the Aintree Grand National for a while now. Even though he is relatively lightly raced for his age, this former Grade 1 winning novice hurdler comes with plenty of premier handicap chase experience.

Last season, Minella Cocooner finished 3rd, just behind Intense Raffles in the Irish Grand National on very deep ground, but just 26 days later, he won the Gold Cup at Sandown.

This season, Minella Cocooner has been forced into three Grade 1s won by Fact To File and two by Galopin Des Champs. He was always going to be out of his depth in those, but when dropped into Grade 3 company for the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse (Nick Rocket 1st, Intense Raffles 2nd), you could see that he was about to hit peak form when running on into 4th.

All of Minella Cocooner’s best form has come on yielding ground or better, so the forecast dry spell will be very much in his favour. He seems slightly high in the weights, but given that he is now dropping back into a set-up that brings out the best in him, there could be more left to give from this uncomplicated gelding.

Beauport

BEAUPORT is a horse that I’ve kept a close eye on for the Grand National ever since he took last season’s Midlands National, but he could have done without bolting up by 31 lengths in the Berkshire National in November.

He won that off 144 and is now up to a mark of 156, making life much tougher. That said, he has continued to improve this season in two runs since, which has seen been placed in the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle, beaten just over 1 length, and 2nd in the Grade 2 Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock, which should leave him spot on for a tilt at the Grand National.

You know what you are going to get with Beauport, and that is a front-running ride where he will be out of trouble, and given the way that he soared around Ascot in November, the Grand National test should be the makings of him.

If he gets ground on the soft side of good, there is every chance he can nick lengths at his fences and build up a lead that many will find hard to peg back on that ground, leaving him bang there at the elbow.

Chantry House

This is the longest of long shots, but CHANTRY HOUSE is just the type of horse that could turn it on and run out of his skin over the National fences. He sent out a gentle reminder of what he can do when travelling with ease and winning going away on New Year’s Day at Cheltenham.

Everyone, including Nicky Henderson, was baffled by the ease of that win, and if Chantry House decides to turn it on one more time this season, he is more than capable of nicking a place at a massive price.