2022 Grand National Ante Post Preview and Tip – DS
2022 Grand National Ante-Post Tip
The weights were announced for the 2022 Grand National this week and guess what? Michaeal O’Leary has thrown his dummy out of the pram. Again. The Gigginstown supremo was aghast at the handicapper handing two time winner Tiger Roll a rating of 161, just 2lbs higher than the mark he won the race by 2.75L off in 2019. It is only a year since he dotted up in the X-Country at Cheltenham and he has run just twice since then so I’m not sure what he is moaning about.
Henry De Bromhead was also unhappy with the mark given to last year’s hero Minella Times. He too will come into the race off 161, 15lbs higher than he was in 2021. Yes, he has failed to complete both starts this season but clearly he was being targeted at this race. I wouldn’t blame the handicapper for not giving him a handier mark seeing as he made a fool of him last year.
Domaine A Dark Horse
The horse I like ante-post for the 2022 Grand National is the Sean Curran trained Domaine De L’Isle. This 9yo son of Network is on the brink as far as getting a run goes. In 2021 he would have failed to get a run off 144. However, in each of the previous three years, he would have got in off a feather weight. This fella is due to run in the Eider in a couple of weeks and he is an 11/1 shot. If he wins, he’ll be well ahead of the handicapper coming into this contest. His price will shorten considerably too.
I reckon that this horse is absolutely crying out for marathon trips. He won twice in April last year at Wetherby (24f gd) off 137 and then at Cheltenham (26f gd) off 144. In both those wins he wasn’t stopping at the finish. Curran’s charge has winning form on softer ground but he is a stone better when it’s on the decent side. It was very soft when he had his first try over the National fences in the Becher back in December. Given the conditions, he ran a cracking race.
Staying On
As can be this horse’s way sometimes, he looked like he was going to finish out with the washing halfway through the race. He hit a couple of the fences, which cost him ground, but as the race moved into the latter stages, he began to warm somewhat to the task. As they jumped the last he was gaining on those ahead of him and by the time they crossed the line, he had got up for 4th, 22L behind the ever so gutsy winner Snow Leopardess.
I think that was a superb effort on ground he handles but doesn’t relish. If he gets good in the description in April (which he should) then I don’t think he’ll lose as much ground early doors and he should jump better too. He did jump the majority of the fences cleanly in the Becher to be fair. However, those mistakes in the early to middle part of the race didn’t do him any favours.
The assessor dropped him 3lbs for that effort so he is in off his last winning mark. On the evidence of that Becher run he’s going to appreciate the big step up in distance and he is 9lbs better off with Snow Leopardess. That doesn’t seem like enough for him to turn the form around on paper. However, on better ground and over a mile further, I think he will. Snow Leopardess is 16/1 and Domaine De L’Isle is 100/1. If they both get in and it’s good ground, I know who I’d rather be on.
