nick alexander is spot-on.

​Speaking at Kelso on Saturday, and what a splendid day of racing it was, Nick Alexander was more vociferous than his interviewer expected in his view on the qualifying requirements to take part in the Aintree Grand National. He has two horses entered that would have an equal chance of running into a place, perhaps even winning. Dingo Dollar is sure to get a run, in fact I quite fancy him at this stage of proceedings. His other horse, though, Hill Sixteen will need around twenty-five horses to come out for him to squeeze in at the bottom of the weights.
Remember, Hill Sixteen finished strongly back in December to finish a nose second to Snow Leopardess in Aintree’s Becher Chase, receiving only 4Ibs, with Domaine De L’Isle sixteen lengths back in fourth. To my mind, and undoubtedly Nick Alexander’s thinking, that should make Hill Sixteen as good a horse around those big fences as both the winner of the Becher and the horse that finished a good distance behind him. The handicapper disagrees.
It can be argued that in winning the most relevant Grand National trial, the connections of Snow Leopardess should be spared sleepless nights wondering if their brave grey will be given the opportunity of becoming the first mare to win the Grand National since Nickel Coin in 1951. In fact, the case of Snow Leopardess is a better example of the race conditions to be perhaps detrimental to the profile of the race.
When the powers-that-be set out to improve the image of the race by softening the fences and reducing the distance, their ethos was to attract better-class horses to the race and to weed-out the type of horse liable to either not stay or to fall. I have long believed they have fallen short in achieving their aim and should pay close attention to Nick Alexander’s well-founded criticism.
The top two in the handicap, Conflated and Galvin, almost certainly will not run, which will leave Melon – the class of horse the race should always attract – with 11st 10Ib and will Willie Mullins be keen to run him off top weight? That would leave Chris’s Dream as top weight, a horse that has, somewhat unluckily, fallen the twice he has run at Aintree. Franco de Port would be left to carry 11st 9Ib which is a hefty burden for a seven-year-old. The present conditions, coupled with the £1-million prize money, is not proving beneficial to the profile of the race and debate should be the order of the day and I hope Nick Alexander’s forthright criticism is the starting pistol for the much-needed debate.
His suggestion of ‘win and you are in’ races, as they have for the Kentucky Derby, though he actually suggested the first two, will not be bettered for ensuring real National horses face the starter each season. The Becher Chase is an obvious starting place, with perhaps the second and third given preference when allotting reserves for the race. The Eider is another Grand National trial race that needs to be amongst the ‘win and you are in’ series. The Welsh Grand National is another obvious candidate and I would suggest the previous season’s Scottish and Irish Nationals. Five races, five horses with proven ability to both stay extreme distances and to continue jumping when puff is increasing in short supply.
Although disappointing last time he ran, Secret Reprieve, a Welsh National winner last season, has absolutely no hope of getting a chance to run at Aintree come April 9th and is on the same mark or below as horses of the calibre Plan of Attack, Scoir Mear, Poker Party and Agusta Gold. In fact, I would suggest that not one horse above Secret Reprieve up to Mighty Thunder and Jett on 10st 4Ibs could be considered a better Aintree prospect than Secret Reprieve. At this moment in time can anyone honestly claim that Samcro is a better prospect at Aintree than at least half a dozen of the horses that need a minor miracle to get into the top forty?
The Grand National needs the right horses in in its line-up, not necessarily horses with the highest handicap marks. Just to take Hill Sixteen as an example; he is a stayer, he’s proven around the Aintree fences and though there are no promises or certainties when it come to the Grand National, he has more of the right ticks in the right boxes than, as one example, the highly disappointing Samcro. Nick Alexander is spot-on; he should be listened to.