Help on how to spot a Grand National winner

The Grand National, on Saturday, is a Great British sporting tradition, with millions of bets being placed and hundreds of thousands of office sweepstakes taking place across the UK.
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Therefore, to help the horse racing novices who will be choosing their Grand National selections this year, Coral Casino has conducted some detailed research into the traits of previous Grand National winners.

The Coral Casino team carried out research into the last 170 Grand National winners in order to identify the most common characteristics of the successful horses.

What is in a name?

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Although Red Rum was the most successful Grand National horse in history, winning the Aintree race three times, horses with just one word names have excelled in the race, with 81 Grand National winners having a single name.

The Perfect Age

The age of Grand National winners has ranged from five years to 15 years, with Peter Simple being the oldest winner in the race’s history. Peter Simple won the race in 1853 at the grand old age of 15 and is the only horse over the age of 13 years to be the first past the most famous winning post on the planet. Nine years is the most common age of Grand National winners, accounting for 46 of the previous victors.

Winning Weights and Odds

The weights carried by previous Grand National winners have ranged from 10 stone 1 pound to 12 stone, with the most common weight set at 10 stone 7 pounds – the handicap of 13 of the previous winners.

Many potential backers use the starting price to inform their bets. Five of the previous Grand National winners were at the huge odds of 100/1 including 2009 winner Mon Mome, and Foinavon in 1967. Over the years 25/1 has been the most common starting price for the winners, with 14 of the successful horses starting at those odds.

The Perfect Shade

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Trevor Hemmings, James Matchell and Noel Le Mare are the most successful Grand National owners, with each of them winning the coveted prize three times! Trevor Hemming’s jersey colours are green and yellow, making these are the most common colours to grace the winning podium in recent years.

However with many of us choosing to back a Grand National horse based on a colour or a name, are there certain horses we are more inclined to back, based on psychology alone?

Psycho-therapist Diana Parkinson discusses why we choose to back one horse over another: “Betting on The Grand National is very different from betting on other races. It’s as traditional as Wimbledon or the Boat Race. People get together to watch and cheer on their chosen horses and jockeys. The Grand National is not about winning, it’s very much about pure collective enjoyment.

“Most of us have a favourite colour which would make us more likely to choose a particular jockey. Strong colours, red, green, purple and gold are attractive because of their vibrancy. These colours suggest strength, power and most importantly, winning. Women tend to favour blue and purple, followed by green, whilst men favour blue and green followed by purple. The design of the jockey’s jersey does have significance in our choice of which horse to back. A simple design with strong colours is best, much like the banners of Knights of Olde.

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“The colour of the jersey does have an impact on our choice of horse, but for most of us it’s the name that attracts us. We are more likely to pick names that are simple, easy to remember. Names similar to well-known songs or film titles appeal because of their familiarity. The majority of complete novices will choose which horse to back solely on the horse’s name.

“Looking at the 2018 runners, Total Recall is obviously attractive with its connection to exciting, action packed movies and video games. The Last Samurai, will be popular for very much the same reasons. However, Lord Windermere has the most striking jersey, followed by Gold Present”.

John Hill, PR Manager at Coral said: “There are no certainties when it comes to finding the winner of the Grand National however it is very interesting to check out the common traits of the previous winning horses. The Grand National is one of the most popular betting days in the year, so hopefully our research and explanation of the psychology of picking your horse has helped you make up your mind!”.

To find out more about the most common traits of the Grand National winners, visit: http://news.coral.co.uk/casino-and-games/casino/the-grand-nationals-winning-horses

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