Form

Grand National Form 2013

Assessing the form of the Grand National runners can be great fun and a very interesting pastime. Due to nature of the race it is possible that anyone of the forty horses could win, but we take a look at those who head the betting and give you a run down on their form plus a brief profile.

We shall be following all of the main contenders right the way through the season as and when they appear on the track, with each run the Grand National 2013 Odds will be affected so it should be a lively market for punters to follow.

Grand National 2013 Form Guide

On His Own

Willie Mullins's On His Own was in the process of running a cracker when falling at Becher's Brook on the second circuit of last year's Grand National, but the Irish raider will return to Aintree on April 6 aiming to bounce back from that disappointment.

Having only been seen once on the racecourse this season, he showed he oozes class when bagging victory in the Grade Two Boyne Hurdle at Navan and that impressive win immediately saw bookmakers slash him to outright favourite for the race and if he can complete the course on this occasion then he will have to come into calculations.

Cappa Bleu

Cappa Bleu was not disgraced when finishing a creditable fourth behind Neptune Collonges in the 2012 renewal and the Evan Williams-trained veteran will now attempt to improve on that effort and gain success in what is a wide open renewal of the Merseyside marathon this year.

A brace of impressive second place finishes this season has seen the 11-year-old gain an army of followers and his defeat to progressive chaser Vino Griego in a Listed event at Ascot shows that he is arguably in the form of his life and with proven ability around the unique course, he is sure to be on the vicinity again.

Sunnyhillboy

Fans of Sunnyhillboy will still have images of Neptune Collonges catching Jonjo O'Neill's raider in the shadow of the post in last year's event, but the Jackdaws Castle inmate is set to return to Aintree as he attempts to go one better in the race and hand JP McManus another win in the contest.

However, he will not head to Liverpool in as good form as he did last year as he has failed to land a blow in two hurdles contest, whilst he was taken out of the Cheltenham Gold Cup at the eleventh hour, but connections will be hoping a return to the National fences can galvanise a performance out of him.

Seabass

Katie Walsh got a real tune out of Seabass in last year's National, but the pair just run out of petrol in the closing stages, but the Irish duo will be back on April 6 and trying to notch victory in the race and Seabass will be another leading Irish contender in the Grand National Betting and will no doubt be a popular selection.

Only seen twice on the racecourse this term, Seabass ran a cracker on his comeback when finishing second to the smart hurdler Rock Critic, whilst he could only finish third in the Bobbyjo Chase in February, but Ted Walsh expects his stable star to produce a similar effort to last year and that will certainly see him in the shake-up.

Colbert Station

One of the in-form runners heading into the 2013 Grand National is Colbert Station, who has notched up a brace of victories for Ted Walsh and will be aiming to continue on an upward curve and the Irish raider will be a lively second shot for Walsh who also saddles the aforementioned Seabass.

An impressive winner of the Paddy Power Chase over the Christmas period, the nine-year-old was then victorious over the smaller obstacles when winning a competitive hurdle race at Punchestown and he will look for the hat-trick on April 6 and is yet another strong Irish runner.

Chicago Grey

Gordon Elliott has already tasted success in the Grand National when winning the race with Silver Birch and he will saddle another major contender in Chicago Grey, who has been heavily-backed in the 2013 Grand National Betting after an impressive success in the Grade Two Red Mills Chase last time out.

Having shown very little on his previous starts, the former Cheltenham Festival four-mile winner eased to victory in the Navan event and he will now look to use that as a catalyst for more success and off a nice racing weight could well be one of the leading players come the end of the 4m 3f 110y contest.

Ballabriggs

A previous winner of the race, Ballabriggs will be a notable runner on the shortlist as he aims to notch another success for the McCain family and this time it will be Donald McCain who will be aiming to emulate his father Ginger by winning the race more than once with the same horse.

Sixth in the 2012 running he then showed some mediocre efforts on his first few starts of the season, but he improved when a decent third in Kelso's Premier Chase and he has emphasised before that he excels around the idiosyncratic venue and has to warrant respect.

Teaforthree

After winning the Cheltenham Festival four-miler, Teaforthree was always touted as a genuine Grand National horse and Rebecca Curtis is exctied to hand her progressive stayer a chance at the blue riband event and he has shown some glimpses of form that should see him feature.

Outbattled by Monbeg Dude in the closing stages of the Welsh National over the Christmas period, Teaforthree could well still be improving over the marathon distances and if he takes to the unique challenge of Aintree then has to be a lively player in the 2013 Grand National Betting market.