WHEN Ted Walsh’s 15/2 favourite Any Second Now carried 11st 8lb into a two and a half-length second place in last year’s Grand National, it wasn’t to be expected that, a year on, he would be top weight.

The weights for the 2023 race, to take place on Saturday, April 15th, five days after the Irish National, were revealed in Liverpool on Tuesday.

Ted Walsh’s reaction to his charge heading the weights of a rating of 167 was “I’m absolutely shocked that he has top-weight”. While understandable, there is a lack of the Gold Cup quality horses among the entries this year with Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup winner Conflated sharing the top-weight on 11st 12lb with Hewick.

Records going back 21 years show a National weights list headed by Gold Cup horses Florida Pearl on 11st 12lb and First Gold with 11st 11lb but there is nothing of that calibre in the race this time.

Six of the top seven are Irish-trained. Galvin and last year’s winner Noble Yeats are next on 11st 11lb, the latter’s rating having risen to 166 – up 19lb from his mark of 147 last year.

BHA chase handicapper Martin Greenwood explained the reasoning behind some of his decisions: “This year we are doing well at the top end for horses rated in the 150s and 160s and there are a handful of very good horses entered, including last year’s winner Noble Yeats.

“Noble Yeats has around 20lb more than last year but his form this season in graded races is the reason for that. The three horses at the top of the handicap - Conflated, Any Second Now and Hewick - you would think are all quite likely to run and it’s very positive that the quality of the race at the top end of the handicap is well up to standard.

Shark Hanlon’s star Hewick looks to have been set a stiff task, albeit, his current rating following his big handicaps success pushes him to a higher level.

“As regards Hewick’s win in the American Grand National, we officially regard that race as a hurdle race on our system as the obstacles there are a kind of mix between our hurdles and fences. The hurdle team had him running up to a mark in the mid-150s when he won that day and I don’think it told us anything about him we didn’t already know really,“ Greenwood continued.

“There weren’t any horses that caused me any particular difficulties this year - they were all more or less straightforward horses. In terms of getting a run on the day, I would say you would be looking at horses rated around 142 or 143.” (Death Duty on 10st heads the horse rated 141 as number 58 on the list.)

Dominated

Irish stables have dominated recently, winning the last four runnings and supplying the first three last year and the first five in 2021, Paddy Power offer an Irish-trained winner of the Grand National 1/5, with odds on a British-trained winner of the Grand National at 7/2.

Last year’s sixth Longhouse Poet and the eighth home Coko Beach are on 11st. Other Irish entries that have clear chances are Peter Fahey’s The Big Dog (11st 5lb), Roi Mage (10st 8lb) for Patrick Griffin, A Wave Of The Sea (10st 6lb for Joseph O’Brien, last year Irish National winner Lord Lariat (10st 5lb) and Tom Gibney’s Velvet Elvis (10st 6lb).

The last British trainer to win the National, Lucinda Russell in 2017, provides their leading contender in last year’s Cheltenham winner Corach Rambler. (10st 5lb)

Notable British challengers include Dan Skeleton’s Ladbroke Gold Cup winner Le Milos (10st 11lb) and the Paul Nicholls stayer Threeunderthrufive (10st 9lb).

Although the 2021 winner Minella Times is entered, trainer Henry de Bromhead announced the retirement of the 10-year-old with the horse not recapturing the form that had put him and Rachael Blackmore into the record books two years ago. With only 78 entries, it is possible any horse entered will get a run.

The total prize fund is £500,000 to the winning horse; the second £200,000; third £100,000; the fourth £65,000; the fifth £40,000, the sixth £30,000, the seventh £20,000; the eighth £15,000, the ninth £10,000 and the 10th £5,000.

Betting

10/1 Noble Yeats; 12/1 Corach Rambler; 16/1 Mr Incredible, Gaillard Du Mesnil, Le Milos, Longhouse Poet, Any Second Now, 20/1 Carefully Selected, Conflated, Delta Work, Galvin, Mr Incredible; 25/1 Capodanno, Hewick, Lifetime Ambition, Remastered, The Big Dog, 33/1 bar.