Grand National jury: we give our verdict on the Aintree spectacular

Ahead of Friday's Grand National, three of the Racing Post's leading tipsters give their leading fancy for the Aintree spectacular . . .

Pleasant Company

Beaten just a head by Tiger Roll last year, Pleasant Company has since kept a much lower profile than the winner, restricted to two runs in races where he hasn't really featured.

Don't worry about that, though, as this race again will have been the plan all along. What's more, he was the real eyecatcher in the Grand National last year, the horse that jumped for fun out in front for most of the second circuit. While Tiger Roll took a few chances at the fences and was tying up late on, Pleasant Company cleared the obstacles with daylight to spare and stayed on strongly up the run-in. At four times the price, he is a cracking each-way bet.
Keith Melrose, betting editor

Tiger Roll and Davy Russell win the 2018 Grand National from Pleasant CompanyCredit: John Grossick

Step Back

I can't get out of my head how well Step Back won the Grade 3 bet365 Gold Cup last year. It was only three weeks after he'd broken his duck over fences but he tore lengths out of the field at just about every single one of Sandown's fences and won by 13 lengths going away.

I can't believe his trainer Mark Bradstock, who already has a Cheltenham Gold Cup on the mantelpiece, has had any other race in mind for him all year than this one and will have him fit as a fiddle for this. Much has been made of how Step Back jumps right, but the Grand National course is less a left-handed track than two long straights with left-handed turns at the end, so I'm not too worried about that and if Nico de Boinville can get him into a rhythm he's sure to go very well.
Paul Kealy, senior tipster

Ready winner: Mark Bradstock's Step Back, the mount of Jamie Moore, leads the bet365 Gold Cup field home up the Sandown hillCredit: Edward Whitaker

Joe Farrell

Came to himself in fine style last spring, including victory in the 4m Scottish National by a nose from Ballyoptic. Only reappeared last month and raised his game again when second at Newbury two weeks ago, for which he is due to go up 3lb. He makes the odd mistake but his jumping basically looks a strength and he could well relish the test Aintree provides. Granted luck, he looks in with a very big shout.
Richard Austen, Spotlights

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