BARRY GERAGHTY - G.NATIONAL WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

BARRY GERAGHTY’S SPORTING INDEX BLOG: HOPEFULLY THE COMPUTER SAYS, ANIBALE FLY!

I’d imagine I would have been on Anibale Fly again this year.

I finished fourth on him two years ago but couldn’t ride him last year, where he finished fifth under Mark Walsh, as I broke my leg in the Topham the day before.

I was really looking forward to the ride this year, particularly after he ran well in his prep run at Naas last time out.

He hadn’t shown an awful lot of spark the few runs before that, finishing well-beaten in Grade Ones, but the run at Naas was a bit more like it and he’s a horse that’s always done better in the spring.

He would have benefitted from missing Cheltenham this season, though he obviously still hasn’t shown as good a level of form and you could only have been hopeful.

J P [McManus] had a few good chances for the race, including Kimberlite Candy who was Richie McClernon’s ride.

I would have always been on Anibale Fly but I can see why Kimberlite Candy was well-fancied.

Then there was Ok Corral for Nicky [Henderson] and he looked like he could have run a big race.

He’s only a second season chaser and maybe lacks that all-important bit of experience for a race like the Grand National, but he won nicely at Doncaster last time.

I know Ted Walsh’s horse, Any Second Now, was well-fancied so you couldn’t ignore him either.

He won the Kim Muir at Cheltenham last year and then missed the Festival this time around, having won a race at Naas back in February.

He’d been off the track since so you’d imagine they would have had him spot on for this.

TIGER ROLL

As for Tiger Roll, he was set to carry 5lbs more this year but he won as he liked 12 months ago, so I don’t see why he couldn’t have gone and won a third.

Having said that, he’s not shown quite the same level of form this year.

It’s very hard to say and the National is so unpredictable that you just never know.

I’ve liked the look of Burrows Saint since his win in the Irish National last year too, while I thought Magic Of Light could have run well again.

She was second last year and had won nicely at Ascot and Newbury this season.

I’ll definitely be watching on Saturday and look forward to seeing which way it goes.

Hopefully the computer says, Anibale Fly!

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