One For Arthur Punted for 2019 Grand National Ahead of Reappearance

The 2017 Grand National winner, One For Arthur, missed the showpiece last season due to injury, but is back and being readied for another tilt at this special race in April 2019. He is on the verge of a comeback and is entered in the Becher Chase, which is run on the Grand National course, at Aintree on December 8th. 

There has been a surge of money placed on One For Arthur to win the 2019 Grand National ahead of his comeback run, which points to him being in good health and ready to come back and show his best. The Lucinda Russell yard is not messing around with the horse, and they look set to put him over the big national fences in his first race back. The horse will be ten when we get round to the 2019 National, but we haven’t seen him since winning the 2017 race, and in comparison to other horses who are the same age, he has relatively low mileage on the clock.

Back in 2017, One For Arthur was a very impressive winner of the national, winning the race by over four lengths. He won the race off a handicap mark of 148 that day, and since then he has been moved up to a mark of 154, which puts him higher, but still at a weight where he should be competitive if he comes back and returns with the same amount of ability. 

Assuming that One For Arthur returns shortly if he can show he retains ability, or he wins a race, then the odds on him winning the Grand National will more than likely tumble. Those betting on the horse now are taking a leap of faith that the horse is coming back the same and is handicapped to win. If he can prove either of those then momentum and support behind the horse would surely grow ahead of the big race.

Something else that would point to One For Arthur being well backed is that he has won the race before. That means the public all know who he is, and they remember his famous victory. That is key in a race like the National, where many punters who bet only do so once a year when this race comes around. Those punters will remember this horse, especially those who backed him, and they will stick with him. That should force the price on him down even further - he is certainly a horse that the whole nation like and appreciate. 

Assuming he gets to the race and tries to win it again, a horse he is likely to take on at Aintree will be the 2018 winner Tiger Roll. He won nicely and completed a Cheltenham Festival and Grand National double last season - something he will be aiming to do once again in 2019. We have already seen Tiger Roll this season; he made a pleasing comeback when not fully fit at Cheltenham around the Cross Country course in November. 

The plan for Tiger Roll is to remain busy just like he was last season, and he will again try to win the big double at the two Spring festivals. That will begin with the Cross Country chase once more at Cheltenham, before moving onto Aintree to try and win back to back Grand National titles. Many horses will try and stand in his way, and one of those looks set to be the 2017 winner One For Arthur, who is fit and back trying to win his crown.