Grand National 2016 Tips

With a later start than usual this year to avoid a clash with the football, we can expect viewing figures for the Grand National to increase from already impressive numbers last year. In 2015  nearly 9 million people watched jockey Leighton Aspell win the race for the second year running. Now 'Many Clouds', the 2015 winner, gets the opportunity to do the double too and is favourite for the 2016 race at a relatively short 8-1. There's plenty of reasons to believe that the nine year old will put up a good performance after recent impressive showings and Many Clouds would be the first to do the double since Red Rum in 1973 and 1974 so plenty of punters will be cheering it on. At the same time though, with such a large field, there are lots of other contenders. Silviniaco Conti is second favourite at 10-1 and he's skipping the World Hurdle in favour of the Grand National so that demonstrates confidence. It's justified too with 7 seven Grade 1 victories under his belt. Third favourite The Last Samuri (12-1) has impressed of late too.

If you're just betting on the National for a bit of fun and feel that it'd be a shame not to put a few quid on, there are of course countless long shot options to go for too. Of course, big priced winners are nothing new at the Grand National so it's not an entirely hopeless task. Who can forget Liam Treadwell riding Mon Mome home in 2009 at a staggering 100-1 with bookmakers. Of the outsiders I'd be tempted to go for 13-year-old gelding Vics Canvas at 50-1. He's a bit long in the tooth but has impressed over the years and has experience over the fences so it'd be nice to see him be thereabouts as an each-way option.

Interestingly Paul Nicholls will put Black Thunder (currently 50-1) up for sale two days before the Grand National takes place. I'm not sure if that speaks to the chance he thinks it has of winning, but it certainly adds another element of interest to what is already bound to be a great event!

Selections:   Silviniaco Conti (10-1 WIN)  Vics Canvas (50-1 E/W)

Sports Roundup

My reading of the women's World Cup Final was on the money results-wise, but how it panned out was quite something to behold. Who would've thought the US would've put so many goals past Japan during the first 15 minutes of the game. It had shades of Brazil vs Germany in the men's World Cup about it, where the Germans just kept putting them past Brazil without reply as if it was the easiest thing ever. Hopefully next time the England girls can go one better and make the final. As long as the US aren't in it!

 In boxing news I was sad to hear that Carl Froch is hanging up his gloves for the last time. There's speculation that he's scared to take on this opponent or that, but it's all hot air really. Froch was never one to avoid fighters and he really did provide plenty of bang for your buck in terms of the number of exciting bouts he was part of. The boxing calendar is a little bare nowadays so Froch retiring is a shame. The main fight I have my eye on right now is September's Wladimir Klitschko (1/4) vs Tyson Fury (7/2). I'll be going into that in more detail sometime soon!

I'll also be featuring a post on the Glorious Goodwood horse racing meeting towards the end of the month. It's been a while since I've taken a punt on any of the major racing meets and how the weather is right now I might even go down at watch it at the course.

In Tennis news, the formidable 33 year old Serena Williams clinched her sixth Wimbledon title beating Spain's Garbine Muguruza 6-4 6-4 and is now in possession of all four major titles, the 'Serena Slam'. Muguruza beat Williams at the French Open just last year but couldn't repeat that feat here. It wasn't an easy tournament for Serena, with Britain's Heather Williams giving her a run for her money in the third round. The win has catapulted Serena Williams into the position of favourite to win 'Overseas Sport Personality of the Year' at currently just over even money on Betfair.

Grand National Tips

Here at TellyBetting we're not only about reality TV. Any televised event, sports based or otherwise is fair game. With that in mind how could we resist casting an eye upon one of the nations most treasured sporting event, The Grand National.

The roar of the crowds is almost overwhelming at Aintree during the Grand National and this Saturday those at the track and the rest of us glued to our TV screens will get to be part of that excitement. 40 horses or there about will once again cover this 4 mile+ course, jumping and hopefully clearing 30 fences over two circuits.

There have been some big priced national winners over the years, many highlighted on the outsider horse racing blog, which was bound to be the case I suppose since the race has been run since 1836. Who can forget the 100-1 winner Mon Mome in 2009 and even more recently Auroras Encore at 66-1 in 2013.

As for this year, we have a short priced favourite in the form of last year's Irish National winner Shutthefrontdoor. Hotly tipped, there's no doubting that it's in with a shot, but at 7-1 there's not really a lot of meat on the bone. Betting on the Grand National is one of the few national betting events that is more than often all about the fun even if you have placed a small wager on it. With that in mind, I'd rather bet on an outsider or two in the hope of winning big. 

The bigger priced selections I'm going to go for are First Lieutenant at 33-1 and Dolatulo at 40-1. First Lieutenant, ridden by Nina Carberry, who would become the first ever female jockey to ride a Grand National winner, still has some mileage in the tank. Dolatulo, winner of the Rowland Meyrick Chase on Boxing Day looks to hold promise too. Formally trained by Paul Nicholls and now Warren Greatrex, who's had a great season, Dolatulo is handy over the fences and in with a shot here.

Both are a bit of a punt to be honest, but with a field of near 40, if your luck's in it's in and if it's not, it's not.

Enjoy the race!