Last updated May 4th, 2021
Compare Grand National odds 2022 from the top bookies using the betting table below. We also have the latest Grand National preview and tips to help you with your bet on the big race at Aintree. Plus you can claim free bets, which are detailed on the JustBookies’ home page.
Grand National Betting Odds 2022
5.15pm Saturday April 9 2022; TV Schedule: Live on ITV; Distance: 4m2½f; Fences: 30; Safety Limit: 40 runners; Racecourse: Aintree, Liverpool. Click best odds in bold to visit bookie; Each-Way Place Terms: 1/4 odds 1,2,3,4.
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| Any Second Now | 20/1 | 20/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 |
| Minella Times | 20/1 | 20/1 | 20/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 |
| Time To Get Up | 20/1 | |||||
| Tiger Roll | 28/1 | |||||
| Easysland | 33/1 | |||||
| Latest Exhibition | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | |
| Secret Reprieve | 20/1 | 33/1 | 25/1 | 25/1 | 25/1 | |
| Happygolucky | 33/1 | 33/1 | 25/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 |
| Galvin | 33/1 | 33/1 | 25/1 | 25/1 | 33/1 | |
| Burrows Saint | 25/1 | 33/1 | 25/1 | 25/1 | 25/1 | |
| Kildisart | 40/1 | |||||
| Topofthegame | 33/1 | 40/1 | ||||
| Next Destination | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | ||
| Enrilo | 33/1 | 40/1 | 40/1 | |||
| Kittys Light | 40/1 | 40/1 | ||||
| Mighty Thunder | 25/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | |||
| Run Wild Fred | 50/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 40/1 | |
| Ibleo | 50/1 | |||||
| Acapella Bourgeois | 50/1 | |||||
| Kimberlite Candy | 50/1 | |||||
| Farclas | 50/1 | 33/1 | 25/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 |
| Cloudy Glen | 50/1 | |||||
| Al Boum Photo | 50/1 | 50/1 | ||||
| Aye Right | 50/1 | 50/1 | ||||
| Cloth Cap | 33/1 | 40/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | 50/1 | |
| Santini | 33/1 | 50/1 | 50/1 | 50/1 | ||
| Cepage | 50/1 | |||||
| Mount Ida | 50/1 | |||||
| The Big Dog | 50/1 | |||||
| Mister Malarky | 33/1 | |||||
| Native River | 33/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 | 50/1 | ||
| Freewheelin Dylan | 66/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 | 50/1 | ||
| Discorama | 50/1 | 50/1 | 50/1 | 50/1 | ||
| Magic Of Light | 50/1 | 66/1 | ||||
| Lostintranslation | 66/1 | 66/1 | ||||
| The Big Breakaway | 66/1 | 66/1 | ||||
| Potterman | 66/1 | 66/1 | ||||
| Dingo Dollar | 50/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 | |||
| Escaria Ten | 33/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 | 50/1 | ||
| Chriss Dream | 40/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 | 50/1 | ||
| Champ | 33/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 | 50/1 | ||
| Balko Des Flos | 50/1 | 50/1 | 33/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 | 66/1 |
| Final Nudge | 66/1 | |||||
| Frodon | 66/1 | 66/1 |
Aintree Preview: Guide To 2022 Grand National Odds & Contenders
By Noel Wilson
Here Just Bookies previews the contenders for the 2022 renewal in Grand National odds order (5.15pm Saturday April 9, 2022 at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool; TV Schedule: Live on ITV).
Do Outsiders Have A Chance in the Grand National 2022?
The fact it is a handicap, with the entire field in the weights, does mean it is a very open contest and all the outsiders do have a chance. It is not like the races of 30 years and more ago, when the longshots were out of the weights (carrying more weight than the handicapper had allotted them).
Because of the easing of the course and the changes made to the fences, lessening the risk of injury, the race attracts much higher quality steeplechasers. Trainers will now risk their good horses.
It follows that it is a much better class of outsider that is running nowadays and the conditions of the race mean every horse in the Grand National starting line-up does have a big chance. Gone are the days when you could put a red line through the bottom half the field.
There is no such thing a ‘no hoper’ nowadays. If anyone tells you otherwise then they do not understand the handicap system in horse racing and how the make-up of this famous Aintree race has been completely transformed in recent decades.
Recent Big-Priced Winners
To bear that point out, since 2009 there have been six winners at odds of 25/1 or more:
- 33/1 Rule the World (2016)
- 25/1 Many Clouds (2015)
- 25/1 Pineau De Re (2014)
- 66/1 Auroras Encore (2013)
- 33/1 Neptune Collonges (2012)
- 100/1 Mon Mome (2009).
Just Bookies’ verdict is that you dismiss the outsiders at your peril because that is where the each-way value lies. Why? Nowadays all runners are racing off their correct handicap marks, so trends from 25+ years ago, when they weren’t, are irrelevant.
Grand National 2022 Preview of the Big-Race Contenders
After setting the scene for this year’s race, this Grand National preview now analyses the chances of the main protagonists. We start with those at the head of the bookies’ Aintree odds market and work down through the betting, concluding with our betting tip.
Cloth Cap heads the betting. He has a few things going for him, namely he is on the upgrade, jumps well and is very well weighted. He runs in the Grand National off 148 and his odds tumbled from 20/1 to 6/1 after he won the Premier Chase at Kelso on March 6 by almost eight lengths, easing down, off that very mark. He had Aso and Two For Gold well held in second and third. Cloth Cap had previously won at Newbury by 10 lengths off a mark of 136, with the decent handicapper Aye Right left toiling in second place.
If the handicapper could frame the weights right now Cloth Cap would likely have 10lb more on his back. That is why he is such a strong favourite. We can’t crab his form, but we can take issue with his odds, which seem very short for a race where luck in running plays such a large part in the outcome.
Cloth Cap’s trainer, Jonjo O’Neill, won this race in 2010 with Don’t Push It, while the owner Trevor Hemmings is going for a fourth success in the big race, having won with Many Clouds in 2015, Ballabriggs (2011) and Hedgehunter (2005). Only Cloth Cap’s jockey Tom Scudamore is yet to taste Aintree victory. That might change this year.
O’Neill’s 2010 National victory was for owner JP McManus, whose Any Second Now is near the head of the betting market. Trained by Ted Walsh, the son of Oscar won the Kim Muir Chase (3m2f) at the Cheltenham Festival in 2019. He is in rude health, having stormed to a 10-length success in a 2m Grade 2 at Navan on heavy ground in March. That form, after the weights for this had been published, makes him look nicely treated off a mark of 152.
Two possible negatives concern trip and ground. Any Second Now has done most of his racing at trips much shorter than this 4m2f and he has generally been effective at two miles. He has also been seen to best effect on soft or heavy ground. If it comes up good or faster – as is often the case at Aintree – then there will be a query as to his effectiveness on the surface.
The 2019 Irish Grand National winner Burrows Saint has his supporters for this English version. Hailing from the mighty Willie Mullins’ yard, this French-bred eight-year-old was last seen when runner-up to stablemate Acapella Bourgeois in the Grade 3 Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse at the end of February.
Burrows Saint is suited by a real test of stamina and has winning form on all ground, most notably good going, which it often is at Aintree. Mullins has only won this race once, with Hedgehunter in 2005, but Burrows Saint has the all-round profile to run a very solid race. He runs off a mark of 156, which is his current mark, so there may be one or two better handicapped contenders. He does have an improving profile.
As we have just heard, Acapella Bourgeois defeated Burrows Saint last time. That was on heavy ground, though this son of Network has won on good before. He is in great form at the moment, but it would be a surprise if he could win the Grand National as an 11-year-old. That said, the three winners between 2011 and 2014 – Ballabriggs, Neptune Collonges and Auroras Encore – were all that age. The five runnings since have been landed by horses aged either eight or nine.
There is hope for Acapella Bourgeois off his 155 rating but in reality, he doesn’t look particularly well weighted. The 4m2f distance of this race is another unknown. However Acapella Bourgeois acquitted himself with plenty of credit when third (beaten just over seven lengths and giving 6lb to the winner) in the 2019 Irish National over 3m5f won by Burrows Saint. On that form alone, it is hard to pick between these two reliable Irish-trained stablemates.
Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore had a tremendous Cheltenham Festival, topping the trainer and jockey rankings respectively. So it is little surprise to see their Minella Times edging towards the head of the Grand National odds. Owner JP McManus’s eight-year-old is the right age to become a winner here, though the distance would have to be a worry as he has never won beyond 2m6f and never raced beyond 3m. The son of Oscar has been campaigned for speed rather than stamina.
Minella Times was runner-up in a rich and competitive handicap chase at Leopardstown on February 7 and, like so many in his stable, comes here in good heart. He has not raced too often on a sound surface, but he looks progressive and while he is not one of the best handicapped horses in the race, he is still on the upgrade.
The same owner has a wealth of riches in search of another winner of this race and Kimberlite Candy might just be the one. He has valuable experience of this course when second over these unique fences in both December 2019 (mark 137) and 2020 (mark 153) in the 3m2f Becher Chase. Sandwiched between those efforts was a 10-length victory in a big 3m5f handicap chase at Warwick off a mark of 140. That success let the cat out of the bag to the handicapper as to how very good Kimberlite Candy is. The nine-year-old gelding was rewarded with a hefty but predictable 13lb rise in the handicap ratings. He runs here off that new 153 figure.
Kimberlite Candy has been very lightly raced and aimed specifically at this race for a long time. He has never raced on anything as quick as good ground and his shrewd trainer Tom Lacey has expressed concerns about fast ground on several occasions. The positives are that he stays well and knows these fences.
I am not sure if his lack of racing means Kimberlite Candy has more scope for improvement than most or if he will be lacking in match practice. He has a history of not backing up a good run, so it seems the plan is to run him when he is best, ie: after a break. The case for Kimberlite Candy is quite strong but he does not tick every box.
Welsh trainer Evans Williams has never won the Grand National but boasts a tremendous record in the race with five places between his two former stable stalwarts State of Play and Cappa Blue between the years of 2009 and 2013. It is surely a matter of time before the yard achieve a deserved first success and he has another live chance in 2021 with Secret Reprieve (Note: Secret Reprieve was reserve and has failed to get a run).
Secret Reprieve has been very lightly raced, with just the nine runs in his life. The last two of those resulted in a 12-length success in the Welsh Grand National Trial before landing the main event itself by a cosy three lengths margin over the marathon 3m6.5f trip. He won that Welsh Grand National off a mark of 134 and his rating now is 10lb higher as a result. It is that mark of 144 that he runs off in this race. That puts him down with the bottom weights, which could prove a big advantage. He is on target to be carrying just 10st 1lb, which would see him receiving weight from most of his rivals.
Secret Reprieve is improving rapidly, will surely stay the trip and has a real touch of class. It is easy to see why he has been supported in the betting. If you are looking for negatives, there would be a query over good ground as, like so many, he has raced predominantly on soft or heavy. The lack of racing experience points to the Flemensfirth gelding still having plenty of improvement in him. However, will this seven-year-old be too novicey for a such a big test? He has never had sight of these fences, but he will be surely very well prepared by his astute handler.
Trainer Jessica Harrington’s mare Magic of Light ran a blinder to beat all bar Tiger Roll in the 2019 Grand National (the race was not run last year) on good to soft ground. That was off a mark of 151 and the 10-year-old is off 5lb higher this time around. She has won three of her seven races since those 2019 heroics, having not raced beyond 3m.
Magic of Light certainly seemed to be on target to run another great race in this 2021 Grand National before her latest performance, when a disappointing 8th of 11 in the inaugural 2m4.5f Mares Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March. She was beaten 34 lengths and didn’t finish off her race. She would need to bounce back from that rare sub-par performance and the short trip may provide a valid excuse. On the plus side, horses with placed form at Aintree tend to run well year in and year out. It is a real course specialist’s test. It would be no surprise to see Magic of Light run a blinder yet again and find her way into the minor placings.
The 2019 Welsh Grand National winner Potters Corner has attracted a fair bit of money in the ante-post market. He won that 3m6½f race cosily off 145 on heavy ground and only races off a mark of 149 here. He is down with the bottom weights and that may have caught the eye of punters. His shrewd trainer Christian Williams has made no secret of targeting this race for a long time. However Potters Corner has run poorly the last twice and missed a preparatory run in the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival with a slight setback. It’s not ideal. Another niggle is that he did actually fall twice in 2019.
The positives are that Potters Corner stays all day long. The yard were quoted early in his career as saying he needs good ground but more recently his jockey has said that Potters Corner is ground dependent for soft or heavy. In reality, he appears to go on all surfaces when in top form, but soft or heavy would likely be to his significant advantage. It often needs a deluge close to the race for Aintree to be anything other than good.
If you take the odds then you are trusting Williams to have him in much better fettle than he was at the start of this calendar year. He is an 11-year-old (the horse not the trainer) and as this preview has established, that veteran age group oddly have a good recent record. If Christian Williams does pull it off on any ground other than soft or wetter then we’d be mighty surprised. Potters Corner is an admirably old stick, but a selection we will swerve based on that distinct lack of good recent form.
There has been a bit of a gamble on Discorama, from the Irish yard of trainer Paul Nolan. Off a rating of 149 he has been given a chance by the handicapper if he puts his best foot forward. However there are a lot of question marks over the eight-year-old gelding. Discorama has not run since disappointing at Cheltenham in November. That’s a long time since seeing a racecourse and suggests a setback. He has a poor winning record, having only actually won two of his 18 races races and they were on soft. So good ground would be an unknown. He has been known to take a bit of a hold and run too freely. He would need to settle if he is to get home over this marathon trip. Even Discorama’s jumping is prone to the odd error.
Certainly the form is there to run a big race. He was a short head runner-up to Milan Native at Galway in October and was a very good third in the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham in 2020. He has a very good run to his credit over 3m7.5f at Cheltenham in 2019. So he really should stay this trip if he settles. There are good reasons why Discorama has attracted money, but unless he drifts in the betting on the day, the value seems to have dried up given the uncertainties.
Grand National Betting Tips’ Verdict
Hopefully you can use the information we have just provided as part of this Grand National preview to make your own mind up about which horse(s) you might like to bet on for the big race. However, in this section we will give our opinion as the likeliest winner of this 40-runner race. It is not only the biggest but it is also the most competitive steeplechase of the entire season. So who wins the unique challenge of the 2022 Grand National?
Of the horses we have discussed so far, and we will be adding more of the field to this guide, it is understandable why the tremendously well-handicapped Cloth Cap is a strong favourite in the Grand National odds. However all the value around that horse has disappeared and at the prices shown in the odds comparison table above, we would want to bet on a horse offering greater each-way value.
With reservations over his lack of recent racing and fears about the quicker ground, we will take a chance on KIMBERLITE CANDY who looks potentially very special. We are relying on his excellent trainer, Tom Lacey, preparing him in tip-top condition for the big day. Kimberlite Candy appeals as a nice each-way wager. He is improving, jumps well, knows these fences and his stamina is assured. Any rain would boost his cause. With luck in running, he has to put up a very bold bid.
Tiger Roll’s Absence: A Sorry Tale of Ego & Ignorance
We wouldn’t normally talk about a non-runner for the race, but Tiger Roll’s absence deserves a quick word of explanation. Ryanair boss and the gelding’s owner, Michael O’Leary, was whining like a child about his weight both before and after the handicapper allocated a fair mark for the son of Authorized’s bid for a third National victory.
However, it was only when his trainer Gordon Elliott was in the midst of the turmoil generated by the leaked picture of him sitting and joking on a dead horse that the owners removed Tiger Roll from the race. They of course blamed the unfair weight.
At the time it seemed a churlish decision. Now it appears completely stupid, because after they removed Tiger Roll from the race he returned to form with a bang, winning the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival once again, this time by a hard-held 18 lengths from Easysland. It made the disputed weight allotted for the Grand National look ridiculously lenient.
If Tiger Roll had lined up for this race, as he should be doing, he would be a very short favourite in the Grand National odds for an historic third victory in the race. Some people think the tiresome owner Michael O’Leary is an idiot for this decision. He has certainly been left with egg on his face and he is undoubtedly the biggest loser from this fiasco. It is just a shame the horse isn’t owned by someone more deserving, like Attila The Hun.
Boost Your 2022 Grand National Betting Odds With Enhanced Place Terms
One of the best offers available for your Grand National betting is when one or two bookies offer ‘enhanced place terms.’ This is when they pay out your each-way bet on more places than usual.
For instance the usual terms for the place part of your each-way bet are 1/4 odds 1,2,3,4. But this year one or two bookies may be offering extended places down to 6th place. That means if you horse comes 6th and you had a bet each-way then you still win the place part of your wager.
The reason a bookmaker offers this bonus is to get you to sign with them rather than with their rival. It is actually a really good deal for the punter and it is our favourite Grand National special offer.
If you are a little confused by what we have written then read the next section for a detailed explanation of each-way Grand National betting.
Big-Race Each-Way Betting Explained
An each-way bet is two bets: one bet to win and one bet to place. Imagine you have £10 each-way on a 20/1 horse. then you have actually placed a tenner to win and a tenner to place.
If the horse won the Grand National then the win part of the bet would pay you £200 profit and you would get your £10 stake back = £210 returned.
Assuming the place terms are the normal 1/4th odds 1,2,3,4 then your place bet would pay out at 5/1 (1/4th of 20/1).
So if your horse came anywhere in the first four you would get £60 returned to you for that part of the bet (ie: £10 at 5/1 and then your £10 place bet stake returned as well).
So the total amount returned to you on that 20/1 winner for your £10ew bet would be £270. That is £210 for the win bet and £60 for the place.
Now you can see the value of betting each-way with a firm that offers better place terms than normal.
If they offer ‘1/4 odds 1,2,3,4,5,6’ then that means if your fancy comes 6th then you will still get paid for the place portion of your wager. With other bookies not offering those terms you would lose.
We believe enhanced place terms are a better deal when you are betting on the big race than chasing after sign-up bonuses, though at some firms you can get both.
Take a look at the Grand National betting odds table above. At the top of it we list all available special place terms for each-way bets. There tend to be more of them the closer you get to the actual race day.
TV Schedule 2022: How To Watch Aintree Showpiece
This year the Grand National is being televised live on ITV. If you are in the UK, then there is no need for pay-per-view or any fancy subscriptions to satellite channels. The race itself starts at 5.15pm on Saturday April 9, 2022, but the TV coverage itself starts several hours before that with the supporting races and behind-the-scenes interviews and pre-recordings to hopefully give you an insight into the most likely winners.