Favourite Burton Port to win Grand National if repeating Hennessy run
Published:Burton Port was understandably cut to 12/1 favourite in the Grand National odds having initially been 50/1 after impressing at Newbury, but this still looks a generous price.
Handicapper Phil Smith released his Grand National weights on Valentine’s Day, where Burton Port was allocated a fair looking 11st7lb.
However, his performance when getting within a length of Cheltenham Gold Cup betting favourite Long Run in the Denman Chase may make a mockery of this figure.
If Smith had the hindsight of witnessing this race before finalising his weights, there is every chance Burton Port would be asked to run off top weight at Aintree, with the horse considered 8lb better off than initially thought.
However, no adjustments are allowed now and Burton Port runs off a mark less than chasing home Diamond Harry and beating Denman on his last previous start in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury in November 2010.
Meanwhile, Burton Port arguably should improve further for his latest run because of his 16 months on the sidelines injured.
This improvement could first be seen in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, with the field seemingly short of much class behind headliners Long Run and Kauto Star.
Third place at worse is definitely up for grabs and Burton Port certainly now represents each-way value at 8/1.
Burton Port still has to prove that he has the stamina to win the Grand National, but punters should remember that Mon Mome has triumphed in the Aintree marathon having placed in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Furthermore, Burton Port was a winner of the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at the Grand National Festival in 2010, with course form showing that he should have little problem contending with the demands of the Aintree fences.
