Destrier has all the right credentials for Aintree success

Carole's Destrier
5.15 Aintree, Randox Health Grand National Maggio
5.15 Aintree, Randox Health Grand National Measureofmydreams
5.15 Aintree, Randox Health Grand National The publication of the Grand National weights this week has provoked some fierce debate about the weights that some horses have been given.

We’ve heard in the last few days that ante-post favourite Don Poli probably won’t come, Outlander definitely doesn’t and Empire Of Dirt is highly unlikely.

A few pounds here or there has never bothered me, though, when trying to find the winner of this race.

Joss Naylor was very well handicapped in 2004 but hated the experience and pulled up. Three years later Monkerhostin was backed into favouritism after finishing fourth in that season’s Gold Cup but again he hated it and refused as early as the seventh.

The point to make is that it doesn’t matter whether you are well in or not well in, if you don’t take to it then you have no chance of winning.

Only a select few horses really like facing 39 other rivals, tackling 30 varied obstacles they don’t see anywhere else, and running over 4m2½f.

The trick is to try to work out who has the necessary standard of form in the book and who will enjoy it. Marry the two together and you get Carole's Destrier – or at least I do.

He stays well, we know that having won the London National at Sandown last season, he’s never fallen over fences and he’s proven in big fields.

On his penultimate start he ran a career-best to get within half a length of the Gold Cup-bound Native River in the Hennessy – about as good a trial as you could wish to see. He was closing on the winner all the way to the line and, although he was in receipt of 7lb, it is the closest any horse has come to beating Native River this season.

He may well be best on flat tracks, with wins at the likes of Huntingdon, Kempton and Wetherby to go with that second place at Newbury. Finally, he has had a light season having not run since disappointing at Chepstow in the Welsh National.

That shouldn’t be held against him, as he hasn’t won at that track in three attempts and it was too close to his Newbury run.

Mulholland could already be a National winner – The Druids Nephew was going very well when coming down a couple of years ago and he may have struck upon the perfect type now. He’s available across the board at 33-1 which seems generous and he might be half that on the day.

It never does any harm to have a few strings to your bow in this race and there are a couple of outsiders who make some appeal if they run.

Maggio is 12 now but age isn’t an issue over the National fences these days with 13-year-old Vics Canvas placed last year, and Hello Bud and Oscar Time both winning over the big ones in the twilight of their careers.

Maggio was an easy winner of the 3m1f handicap chase that forms part of the undercard to National day last season, and he won very easily indeed.

Last time out he didn’t show a great deal at Kelso behind Saphir Du Rheu, but that’s not a race that would have played to his strengths.
He’s been round these fences before in the 2015 Topham Chase, and this extreme trip promises to suit well. He is overpriced at 50-1.

Finally, Gigginstown aren’t happy about the weights given to some of their leading contenders but they would surely be happy to let Measureofmydreams run if he gets in.

He is 54th in the weights and on his third in the National Hunt Chase last season (six lengths behind Native River off level weights) you could give him some sort of chance.

Sent off favourite for the Scottish National off the back of that, he took an early tumble and has since moved to Noel Meade’s yard.

His comeback in the Thyestes Chase wasn’t wildly encouraging but it’s too early to write him off and some of his novice form reads very well. Available at 66-1, he forms the third leg of the triumvirate for this year’s race. Good luck.