Grand National contenders well-backed after Cheltenham Festival glory

A number of Cheltenham Festival winners have proved popular with punters following their success in March, despite winners at Cheltenham historically failing to follow up their victories at Aintree.

Corach Rambler was the first of the Cheltenham winners to shake up the Grand National betting, after showing impressive late pace to see off Fastorslow and Monbeg Genius in the Ultima Handicap Chase. Betting sites reacted instantly, cutting Corach Rambler from 12/1 to 8/1, and he has only shortened further since then, now sitting top of the betting as the 6/1 favourite.

Gaillard Du Mesnil also enjoyed success on day one of the Cheltenham Festival to win the National Hunt Challenge Cup Chase, winning the National Hunt Challenge Cup, but the market reaction wasn’t quite so positive, and he remains 14/1 to win again at Aintree next Saturday.

Then, on day two, Delta Work justified favouritism to take the Cross Country Chase for the second successive year. He followed up victory last year by coming home third in the National, and bookmakers are expecting a similar showing, with the Gordon Elliott trained horse sitting third in the latest betting.

The signs aren’t great when it comes to winning back-to-back at Cheltenham and Aintree though, with only three horses since 1961 able to win at the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National in the same season.