There is no doubting the difficult year we have seen for the entire sporting world, as slowly but surely, normality has been returning. We are still seeing a lack of spectators in most sports but hopefully this changes soon, despite the action still able to take place. The horse racing world was also affected but has been able to stay relatively untouched from this period but one of the biggest races in the horse racing calendar was cancelled in 2020, this being the Grand national. However, the event is returning this year, as anticipation continues to build ahead of the race.
The race will be taking place on Saturday 10th April at Aintree racecourse, in what will be the 173rd running of the annual event. The two-time defending champion is Tiger Roll, who had been a long-term favourite for the race but has been taken out due to the high weight he would be set to carry. The betting for the event has really livened up in recent weeks, with Cloth Cap now the overwhelming favourite for the race. We have seen a number of punters looking to get involved in the betting for the race, with the sites such as bet-colorado.com continuing to prove popular for sports bettors.
The nine-year-old is trained by Jonjo O’Neill and is owned by Trevor Hemmings, who has a steeped history of success in the race, which further adds to the excitement ahead of the 2021 running. Cloth Cap brings in a very attractive profile, that includes two impressive victories in succession, having previously finished third behind Frodon. The first of these victories was in the Ladbrokes Trophy chase at Newbury, which saw the horse travel very strongly and jump well to win comfortably by ten lengths.
Following this, the horse was then set to contest a listed Premier chase at Kelso, in what looked a very competitive field. The horse made all and again showed how well he jumps, before easing clear to win by just over seven lengths. It was a stunning performance, that has seen the horse go up 14lb in the weights, but it will still run off that old mark in the Grand national, which is why he is so well fancied now and continues to shorten in the betting.
⭐️ Cloth Cap jumps for fun once again!
The likeable Cloth Cap follows up his Ladbrokes Trophy victory with success in the Listed bet365 Premier Chase for @tommyscu & @JonjoONeill at @KelsoRacecourse pic.twitter.com/k78EUK7nv8
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 6, 2021
The horse’s credentials are as clear as day for the race, so it now sets up for a fascinating contest and whether he can now deliver on the biggest stage of all for connections.