Grand National 2016 betting guide: Five horses to watch out for

Who to keep your eye on amongst the 40 runners

The Grand National is one of the most competitive events in the entire sporting calendar and possibly the most exciting to have a bet on.

This year’s race is a high quality affair, with last year’s winner, Many Clouds topping the market and the weights.

The horse proved his resolute stamina and determination when winning the race last year, giving Leighton Aspell an excellent spin round, as seen in Jockey Cam footage of the race.

With the Grand National being a handicap, every horse is allotted a certain weight to run with according to their ratings. Many Clouds won last year’s contest off 11st 9lb and will race with just 1lb more this year. Therefore if he puts in as good a performance as last year, that difference is unlikely to stand in his way.

There are some other high class horses in the field who will ensure this year is an excellent renewal. Silviniaco Conti is certainly one. The winner of two King Georges his last run at Ascot showed he might be back to his best. Swerving the Cheltenham Festival may give him a freshness edge over his rivals too.

Many Clouds ridden by Leighton Aspell on his way to winning the 2015 Crabbie's Grand National at Aintree (Getty)

Another highly regarded horse is Holywell, who beat this year’s Gold Cup winner at Aintree two years ago. He also put in a solid show at Cheltenham last time and will race off a lovely weight at Aintree. You can rely on Jonjo O’Neill to have his charge primed but his jumping has let him down in the past.

Of the outsiders, a couple look like they could run well at a nice price. Triolo D’Alene has been laid out for this race all season if not most of his career. Trainer Nicky Henderson hasn’t won the Grand National in 37 attempts but Triolo D’Alene has won over these fences before when winning the Topham Chase.

Lastly Wonderful Charm makes some appeal, another who has been trained patiently for this and after mixing it in graded races not long ago could be some value.

Do make sure to place any bets each-way, as the race is so competitive the insurance of a few places is helpful, just make sure you get as many places as possible by choosing the right bookmaker.