Girl power could result in Seabass going off Grand National favourite

There has never been a female-ridden favourite of the Grand National, but some late money is expected to come for Seabass this year which may result in history being made.

It is the Walsh siblings that head the Grand National betting, with big brother Ruby currently heading the market at 6/1 with On His Own.

Sister Katie comes next with Seabass at 8/1, but there is still plenty of time for a late shake-up to emerge, especially with many once-a-year punters leaving it until Grand National day to place their bets.

Because of the Katie factor, Seabass is expected to be a popular choice of the ladies and so there is a real possibility that a splurge of money could see the 10-year-old backed into favourite.

Katie gave Seabass a dream ride at Aintree last year as she was bang in contention jumping the last fence, before fading slightly to finish third.

This was the best ever result for a female jockey and Katie is a firm believer that her jockey booking will not be a negative in any way.

She said: “It’s about getting into a nice rhythm. I’ll give him as good a ride as anybody.”

However, whether a safe round of jumping and a good rhythm will be enough to enable Seabass to go two better than last year remains to be seen.

The horse will run off a mark 5lb higher this year, which stacks the cards slightly more against him, while Walsh has never ridden a winner in her 10 previous races at Aintree.

Key to the chances of the pair may be riding the horse slightly more conservatively than 12 months ago, when they were at the front to be shot at all of the way around.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.