Saturday 9th April is the date when the attention of the sporting world will turn to Aintree and the running of the 2011 John Smith’s Grand National. As always, this year’s race is expected to draw in many amateur punters who have an annual flutter on the big race, and rather than pick a name at random, this article will look at some of the best prospects for the race who are currently at attractive Grand National odds.

The new favourite is the former 40-1 shot Silver By Nature, who is aiming to become the first Scottish-based winner since Rubstic in 1979 and only the second Scottish-trained winner in the history of the Grand National.

The reason for the drastic recent shortening of odds was Silver By Nature’s excellent performance in winning the National Trial at Haydock for the second year in succession on 19th February. This attracted plenty of money for the horse ahead of Aintree and bookmakers responded accordingly, making the Lucinda Russell’s nine-year-old grey the new 12-1 favourite.

Other horses who the bookmakers consider to be good odds to win the event include Ballabriggs and The Midnight Club, both at 14-1, and Niche Market, Big Fella Thanks and Oscar Time, who are all 16-1 shots at present.

Another steamer and one to watch on the day is Ballytrim, which has come in from 40-1 to 25-1 over the past few weeks. The Irish 10-year-old, trained by Irish racing legend Willie Mullins, is something of a gamble given his fractious nature, but many in Ireland feel he may have the talent to run well at Aintree in 2011 after missing out in 2010.

The final horse that is really worth considering is last year’s victor Don’t Push It, ridden by AP McCoy. McCoy’s victory in last year’s race, after years of heartache, obviously played a key role in the jockey winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 2010. It was an emotional victory for the record-breaking jockey and his army of followers.

Currently at odds of 20-1, along with Backstage, Don’t Push It may not be the favourite come race time, but there will be many punters hoping that McCoy can pull off a rare back-to-back double win in the event, the first since the legendary Red Rum achieved the feat in 1973 and 1974.

Of course, for many people the whole point of looking through the runners in the Grand National is not about selecting the winner, but about selecting the horse that offers the best each-way odds and fortunately this year there are a lot of intriguing selections at mid to long odds for punters to think about.

One such horse is Vic Venturi, currently a 40-1 shot. The 10-year-old raced last year but struggled to impose himself in an incident-packed ride. Furthermore, Vic Venturi has won twice over three to four miles, won three times out of five races this season and has never fallen, plus has experience over the Grand National fences from last year. As an each way bet, there are few runners offering better value than Vic Venturi at present.

Another horse to consider an ante-post bet on is Midnight Chase. This Neil Mulholland-trained eight-year-old looked very impressive when winning the Morson Group Handicap Chase at Cheltenham in November 2010, a race which Don’t Push It also won prior to his National success last year. Since then, the horse has recorded another win at Prestbury Park, taking his tally to five wins in his last six races. At 40-1, he has the quality to defy those odds and gain a top four spot this year.

Finally, the Grand National is about romance and the plucky underdog achieving the unlikely victory like that of Mon Mome, a 100-1 shot in 2009. Are there any likely long-odd winners in this year’s race?

Although he is by no means certain to run, Arbor Supreme could be the horse in 2011. His form has been patchy in recent times but on the plus side he is owned by JP McManus, trained by Willie Mullins and both hold the horse in high regard. He’s versatile, a winner over good and soft ground and a stayer; and given a clear run and a little luck, he could prove to be the best long odds shot for the 2011 Grand National.

Whatever your selection, ensure you get the best odds possible, then sit back and enjoy one of the greatest spectacles of the British sporting calendar.

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