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Latest Profit & Loss Figures
A small loss of -£5.54 for the week ending Sunday, April.
The horse racing action moves up several gears during the week ahead, culminating in Saturday’s Randox Grand National. Aintree’s three day meeting gets underway on Thursday afternoon, with the ground expected to be on the soft side of good.
- P/L for the week ending Sunday, 5 April: -£5.54
- P/L for the year 2026 to date: +£63.06
- P/L for the year 2025: +£22.38
- P/L for the year 2024: +£200.42
- P/L since 1st September 2022: +£563.72
Alan Kelly's Tips - Wednesday, 8 April
Horse Racing action on the eve of Aintree’s Grand National meeting comes courtesy of the Flat turf cards at Catterick and Nottingham, along with Fontwell’s jumps fixture and the evening all-weather meeting at Kempton.
Over in Ireland, Gowran Park stages the first of their two-day fixture.
2:48pm Catterick - North Force (Nap)
With a couple of runs as a juvenile under his belt, the Richard & Peter Fehey-trained NORTH FORCE (Nap) could be a horse to follow this season, the son of Frankel and Group 2 winning mare Move Swiftly running in the colours of owner Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum.
Looking as green as grass on his racecourse debut in a Doncaster maiden last summer, North Force showed plenty of promise in finishing a never-nearer third behind George Boughey’s odds-on favourite Hey True Blue.
Reappearing at Redcar over today's trip of 7f five months later, Shane Gray's mount did well to finish second (beaten a length and three quarters) behind Karl Burke's Skiathos after losing many lengths at the start due to the late removal of a blindfold.
Ed Walker's Jeddaal is the most experienced of the 11 runners with five runs as a two-year-old, finishing runner-up on two occasions. Paul Mulrennan’s mount is clearly well-regarded and likely to improve for being gelded at the end of last season.
Fifth behind North Force at Redcar was fellow rival Decem Starr, who may prove the main danger to the selection, Jack Jones’ charge runner-up at Leicester before failing to get the clearest of runs at the north-east track. Sixth in a valuable Sales race at York last autumn, Tim Easterby’s Red Spells Danger is the other one to consider.
Recommendation: North Force (Nap)
5:05pm Catterick - Trilby (Each-Way)
Despite a career spanning 39 races so far, this will be just the second visit to the North Yorkshire racecourse for the Sam England-trained six-year-old TRILBY (Each-Way), the son of Twilight Son last seen on the course winning a heavy-ground 6f handicap two years ago.
Five from 33 on turf, the mount of Oisin Orr has proved a very reliable sprinter and makes plenty of appeal (each-way) in this Class 4 contest off a mark of 76, the gelding’s lowest since finishing second in a better class race at Haydock in September of 2024.
Placed in a trio of Class 3 sprint handicaps towards the end of last season, Trilby is sure to come on for his run on Newcastle’s Tapeta surface last month when always on the back foot after missing the break. Ruth Carr’s The Good Biscuit won his final two races of last season and would have a good chance of landing the hat-trick if fit enough on his first start for over five months, while 2023 Stewards’ Cup winner Aberama Gold will not fail on that score and cannot be dismissed off a mark of only 79.
Recommendation: Trilby (Each-Way)
5:17pm Fontwell - Master Dunraven (Each-Way)
The Dan Skelton-trained Tyson landed a bit of a gamble when running out a comfortable winner at Newcastle last week and looks sure to be sent off at short odds in an effort to follow-up in Fontwell’s finale under a 7lb penalty. Tristan Durrell’s mount will take plenty of beating if in the same kind of form just over a week later, but I would rather take a chance on Neil Mulholland’s MASTER DUNRAVEN (Each-Way) in receipt of 19lb from the joint top weight.
Backed as if defeat was out of the question in a Wetherby handicap on his most recent start in February following a promising effort at Plumpton four weeks earlier, Conor Farrell’s mount failed to justify his odds of ½ after weakening on the soft ground, the six-year-old’s cause not helped by some indifferent jumping.
The Mastercraftsman gelding is clearly capable of better than he showed at the West Yorkshire racecourse and gets the each-way vote in today’s field of 8 runners.
Recommendation: Master Dunraven (Each-Way)
Grand National (Antepost) - Final Orders (Each-Way)
With less than a month to go before the 2026 renewal of Aintree’s Randox Grand National, a good time to try and pinpoint a bit of early value in the ante-post market for the world’s most famous steeplechase. At the 50/1 currently available with William Hill about Gavin Cromwell’s Final Orders, I think last week’s Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase winner is way overpriced for the extended 4m 2f test of jumping and stamina.
Currently standing at number 40 in the pecking-order and with a maximum permitted field of 34, the 10-year-old is not guaranteed his place, but with several doubtful runners higher up in the handicap I will be surprised if the Camelot gelding ends up as one of the reserves. A greater doubt revolves around possible ground conditions at the Merseyside racecourse on April 11th, as Final Orders needs decent going to produce his best form.
With current top weight I Am Maximus (winner in 2024) a certain runner barring accidents, Final Orders has a lovely racing weight of just 10st 5lb. Five of the first 12 winners of the race in the 21st century were 10-year-olds, and while Cheltenham's cross country chase has only been going since 2005, dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll won that unique three miles five and a half furlong contest in both of the years he was victorious at Aintree.
Of Final Orders’ seven successes over fences, five came over distances ranging from two to three miles, showing the kind of versatility needed to win a race requiring both pace and stamina in equal measures (also a winner over 1m 4f on the flat). If conditions are similar at Aintree to those of last week (good to soft), a reproduction of his comfortable victory over favourite Favori De Champdou would give the selection a much better chance of emulating Tiger Roll than his current odds would indicate.
Recommendation: Final Orders (Each-Way) - 50/1 with Unibet (4 places)
* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
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About Alan Kelly
A passionate follower of horse racing for over 50 years, Alan has enjoyed a 40-year career in the betting industry, 28 of which he spent running his betting shop as an owner/manager.
A successful punter with a keen eye for value, Alan has had many betting highlights, including a Scoop 6 win and has shown a consistent profit in the battle with bookmakers since joining Freebets.com in 2008.
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