The Aintree Grand National is the most famous jump race in the horse racing world, with over seven million people tuning in each year from around the world. First run in 1839, the spectacle takes place in April, with the best-staying chasers in the game taking each other on over a distance of 4 miles.
The Grand National is famous with sports bettors, with 40 horses to choose from and some past winners returning at considerable prices to reward their brave supporters.
Below we look at three big price outsiders that could cause a shock in the 2023 renewal.
The Shunter (40/1)
Hailing from the same stable as last year’s winner, Noble Yeats, The Shunter comes into the 2023 Aintree Grand National with a similar profile to his stablemate. Those placing Grand National bets this year will find him as a 40/1 chance for the big race, but that could prove to be a very generous price if the 10-year-old runs to his merits.
You won’t find The Shunter amongst many of the Grand National 2023 betting tips available, but he does possess a touch of class when at his best, and a stamina test such as this race is worth a try at this stage of his career.
Battleoverdoyen (100/1)
Another 10-year-old horse at even bigger odds that deserves a second look is the Gordon Elliott-trained Battleoverdoyen. Twice a Grade 1 winner in his younger years, his career hit the skids in the intervening years, but he has shown some signs of a resurgence this season.
He has experience jumping the unique fences of the Grand National and could relish the marathon trip, and Gordon Elliott certainly knows how to train a horse to win the Aintree showpiece. 100/1 looks like a very high price.
The Big Dog (25/1)
The last of the three outsiders on the list is the brilliantly named The Big Dog. He may not be as big of a price as the pair mentioned above, but there is a reason for that, with the Irish-trained runner having shown some excellent form this season.
The Big Dog, who is 10 years old like his other two rivals, has won two of his four starts in this campaign and was in the process of running a massive race in a Grade 1 contest last time before coming down when leading at the second last fence. He is a horse who still seems to be progressing in his career, and one advantage he has over his Grand National rivals is his experience of running over stamina-sapping trips.
25/1 would seem to be a very nice price for a horse of his nature, and if you are betting on a horse to finish in the first five places, you could do a lot worse than look at The Big Dog.
With online betting sites usually paying out on the first five horses home in the Grand National, it makes sense to have a small each-way bet on a big-priced runner. The 2023 hopefuls mentioned above are just three of the outsiders that could cause a shock in a race that has been won in the past by horses at odds of 50/1, 66/1, and even 100/1!
