There is lots of Christmas racing for fans of the jumps game to enjoy across the coming days and, as always, the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow promises to be amongst the highlights.
The three-and-three-quarter-mile marathon has been won in recent times by Gold Cup winners Synchronised and Native River.
Nassalam will not bid to win consecutive editions after connections ruled him out at the 11th hour but a stellar field will descend on the Monmouthshire venue for the biggest date in Welsh jumps racing.
We’ve picked out two runners to consider against the field for the Welsh Grand National at 14:50 on Friday, December 27th with live coverage on ITV Racing.
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Welsh Grand National tips
Monbeg Genius for Jonjo & AJ O’Neill looks set to scrap it out with Dan Skelton’s mare Galia Des Liteaux for favouritism.
The former finished second behind Fontaine Collonges last time at Hereford but has a perfect 3-3 record at Chepstow including two novice wins over fences in early 2023.
The mare Galia Des Liteaux perhaps didn’t get home in the Grand National at Aintree back in the spring when she finished eighth after travelling well. She has two good runs at Carlisle (2m4f) and Newbury (3m2f) this season and her runner-up finish in the Classic Chase at Warwick in January points to this trip and soft ground being within range.
Off a mark of 123, there could be some mileage in ATLANTA BRAVE for trainer Kerry Lee.
He won his maiden hurdle here on soft ground in January 2023 on his only course start. His best run last season over fences saw him finishing second at Newbury (3m2f, soft) between Christmas and New Year, coming clear with Surrey Quest, who would go on to finish second in the Scottish National for trainer Toby Lawes. That rival ran well again at Cheltenham on his comeback off a mark of 137.
Atlanta Brave, meanwhile, was pulled up in the Cotswolds in October on his return from a break but has since gone well at Uttoxeter (3m, soft) in a small-field novice contest where he made much of the running.
He has some of his own ideas at times but is still unexposed as an out-and-out stayer and he will carry a low weight here.
Mel Rowley has made some good strides since taking out her training license in 2021 and the Shropshire-based handler could see VAL DANCER running a big one at Chepstow.
He has four wins from seven over fences and figures of 311133-1 in this sphere. All of his best form comes with plenty of give underfoot, so conditions here will be to his liking.
On his seasonal return at Carlisle (3m2f, good to soft), he was all stamina in beating Snipe in game fashion to win a valuable Class 3 contest. He’s rated 5lb higher now but that attitude will stand him in good stead here and the extra half mile might be within his range too.
*all odds correct at time of writing and subject to change
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