The Chepstow Racecourse Finale
April 26th, 2024
The Racing Horse has enjoyed this particular National Hunt Season at Chepstow more than any other, s[...]
40th Anniversary of Coral's association with the race
The Coral Welsh Grand National is a Grade 3 National Hunt Handicap Chase open to horses aged 4yo or older and first run at Chepstow in 1949. This year's running of the Welsh National will mark the 40th anniversary of Coral's association with the race, making it one of the longest partnerships in sports sponsorship. The race will form the centrepiece of the last fixture broadcast on BBC for at least four years, as Channel 4 will be the exclusive terrestrial home of racing until 2016.
The Coral Welsh Grand National is the first of the four national hunt ‘nationals’ run annually in the United Kingdom. It is run over a distance of about 3 miles and 5½ furlongs (5,934 metres), and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped. It is the richest and biggest race held at the Chepstow racecourse in Wales during the calendar year.
One of the great jumping races on the NH calendar
Apart from the fact the Coral Welsh Grand National is always a great race in itself it is also a stepping stone towards the Aintree race in April falling as it does at Christmas time. Due to the time of the year, the race is nearly always run on testing ground and turns into a war of attrition and staying chasers that run well in this race normally go on to take their chance in the Aintree Grand National at Liverpool in April. Mon Mome, runner-up in the Welsh National in 2006, went on to land the big Aintree Chase in 2009 at racing odds of 100/1. In 1997/98 Earth Summit realised the amazing feat of winning both races in the same season.
Recent times have produced two Welsh National winners in Bindaree and Silver Birch who has since been successful in the Aintree race. Synchronised who won it in 2010 went on to win the Gold Cup in 2011. Of course the trip around Chepstow is shorter than Aintree but it is always a tough slog on heavy ground so any horses that stay on well should have no problem at Aintree in April.
Recent times have produced two Welsh National winners in Bindaree and Silver Birch who has since been successful in the Aintree race. Synchronised who won it in 2010 went on to win the Gold Cup in 2011. Of course the trip around Chepstow is shorter than Aintree but it is always a tough slog on heavy ground so any horses that stay on well should have no problem at Aintree in April.
Teaforthree has that vital Chepstow form
At the moment Teaforthree is 7/1 favourite to deliver a home victory in the Coral Welsh National and to become the first Welsh-trained winner of the race since Norther in 1965. The Rebecca Curtis-trained Teaforthree is a Cheltenham Festival winner. The connections have always been quick to emphasise this horse's abundant stamina and so it turned out with the gelding taking the four-mile National Hunt Chase at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival. That race had long been part of a plan and it is interesting that the 2013 Welsh National has also long since been mentioned as a second season target. Importantly, Rebecca Curtis has made sure this son of Oscar has plenty of experience at Chepstow. In four visits he has not been out of the first three including two victories. The Aintree Grand National is almost certain to be a target once the horse has more experience.
