Who will be suited by soft ground in the Grand National at Aintree?
With plenty of rain around, Tony McFadden highlights three Grand National contenders who will be suited by testing going at Aintree.
I Am Maximus
Aintree's Grand National course may not be the formidable jumping test of old but there are still 30 fences to negotiate and, therefore, lots of chances for I Am Maximus, who is not a fluent jumper, to lose ground at his obstacles shifting out to his left.
Jumping is a potential problem for I Am Maximus but stamina is much less of a concern based on how thoroughly he saw things out when winning the Irish Grand National last season.
That may have been over a five-furlong shorter trip than the one he will tackle at Aintree but a proper gallop on soft ground made for a really attritional race that only six of the 27 starters managed to complete. I Am Maximus looked an unlikely winner for much of the way but found plenty under a never-say-die ride to lead close home, displaying an abundance of stamina.
I Am Maximus was last seen bolting up in the Bobbyjo Chase back at Fairyhouse, on ground considered heavy by Timeform, and as that performance came after the release of the weights he is potentially well treated.
Mr Incredible
Mr Incredible, who like I Am Maximus is trained by Willie Mullins, failed to complete in the Grand National last season, though he was perhaps unfortunate as his rider's saddle possibly slipped before he was unshipped at the Canal Turn on the second circuit.
Mr Incredible has to compete from a 5 lb higher mark this time around but the more testing ground should suit him better. He's run three times on going considered heavy by Timeform and his record consists of a win in a Naas maiden hurdle, a second in Warwick's Classic Chase last season and a second in the Midlands National on his belated return last month.
Encouragingly given his chequered past, Mr Incredible didn't do anything wrong in the Midlands National, staying on gradually all the way to the line.
Malina Girl
Malinas is a noted stamina influence and his daughter Malina Girl relished her first try at a marathon trip when landing the Ulster National last season on heavy ground.
She ran poorly on a much sounder surface and was pulled up in the Scottish National a few weeks later but resumed her progress as a staying chaser when running away with what had looked a competitive handicap at Cheltenham's November meeting, underlining her effectiveness on testing ground.
She's been beaten on all four starts since, though looked set to play a hand in the finish when falling at the third last at Cheltenham in December and on her latest start understandably found a two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle at Leopardstown providing an insufficient test of stamina.
She needs a few to come out to sneak into the line-up but if she makes the cut her stamina and effectiveness on testing ground make her one to consider at a big price.
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