The Welsh Grand National is a handicap chase run over three miles and six and a half furlongs at Chepstow racecourse between Christmas and New Year.
The race is one of the most important staying chases of the season and there are 23 obstacles to be jumped in all. Since 2003, two winners have won the Grand National and two have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Established in 1895, the race originally used to take place on Easter Tuesday, and was held at Ely Racecourse in Cardiff.
After the Second World War, it was run at Caerleon for one year in 1948, before moving to Chepstow in 1949 – which became its permanent home.
The race was switched from Easter Tuesday to a date in February in 1969, before being moved to late December in 1979.
The meeting has remained in that December position ever since, and is now traditionally held yearly on the day after Boxing Day, December 27th. The fixture generally fills the newspapers with plenty of Festive horse racing betting tips.
Some famous names have won the Welsh National down the years, though none are perhaps better known than the Jenny Pitman-trained Burrough Hill Lad, who won the race in 1983.
Burrough Hill Lad's Welsh National victory came during a prolific season in which he also captured the 1984 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The top three quickest run Welsh National’s over the last 20 years have been:
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2005 - LAventure (7:38.90)
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2008 - Notre Pere (7:39.90)
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2006 - Halcon Genelardais (7:40.90)
The slowest winning time was set in 2015 when Mountainous won in a time of 8:26.60 in extremely heavy conditions.
Welsh National Winners
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2020 - (8:07.80) Secret Reprieve 7-y-o 10-1 5/2F (Adam Wedge/Evan Williams)
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2019 - (8:21.60) Potters Corner 9-y-o 10-4 8/1 (Jack Tudor/Christian Williams)
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2018 - (7:48.21) Elegant Escape 6-y-o 11-8 3/1F (Tom O'Brien/Colin Tizzard)
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2017 - (8:12.10) Raz De Maree 13-y-o 10-10 16/1 (James Bowen/Gavin Cromwell)
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2016 - (7:49.80) Native River 6-y-o 11-12 11/4F (Richard Johnson/Colin Tizzard)
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2015 - (8:26.60) Mountainous 11-y-o 10-6 9/1 (Jamie Moore/Kerry Lee)
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2014 - (8:07.60) Emperors Choice 7-y-o 10-8 9/1 (Aidan Coleman/Venetia Williams)
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2013 - (7:54.90) Mountainous 8-y-o 10-0 20/1 (Paul Moloney/Richard Lee)
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2012 - (7:55.80) Monbeg Dude 8-y-o 10-1 10/1 (Paul Carberry/Michael Scudamore)
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2011 - (7:54.70) Le Beau Bai 8-y-o 10-1 10/1 (Charlie Poste/Richard Lee)
Welsh National Statistics
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Age: 8 of the last 10 winners were aged between 6 and 8.
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Price: 3 of the last 10 favourites have won, 6/10 winners came from the top three in the horse racing betting.
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Last Run: 5 of the last 10 winners won on their last run before the Welsh Grand National, 10/10 winners ran within the last 49 days.
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Previous Course Form: 10/10 winners had at least one previous run at Chepstow, 8/10 winners had at least one previous win at Chepstow.
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Previous Distance Form: 8/10 winners had at least one previous runs over 3.5 miles or longer, 5/10 had at least one previous win over 3.5 miles or longer.
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Previous Chase Form: 10/10 winners had at least five previous chase runs, 10/10 winners had at least two previous chase wins.
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Rating: 9/10 winners were rated 131 or higher.
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Graded Win: 4/10 winners had at least one previous win in a Grade 1-3 race.
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Season Form: 10/10 winners had at least two runs that season, 6/10 winners had at least one win that season.
Leading Trainers
It’s a dead-heat between three trainers in the Welsh National over the last 20 renewals with Paul Nicholls, Colin Tizzard and Jonjo O'Neill all having won the race twice. Paul Nicholls’ winners were Silver Birch (2004) & LAventure (2005).
Colin Tizzard’s winners were with Native River (2016) & Elegant Escape (2018). Jonjo O'Neill’s scorers were Mini Sensation (2002) & Synchronised (2010).
To see who Nicholls may be targeting at the Welsh track over the Christmas period, be sure to check out our Paul Nicholls Stable Tour.
Two high profile trainers on the cold list over the last 20 renewals in the Welsh National are David Pipe who has sent a total of 20 runners to the race without recording any wins and Peter Bowen who has saddled 10 at the Welsh venue.
Leading Jockeys
The leading jockey in the Welsh National over the last 20 renewals is Tom O'Brien who has won the contest twice. Those two victories came aboard Dream Alliance (2009) – whom a movie was later made about, and Elegant Escape (2018).
One jockey to swerve in the Welsh National is Tom Scudamore. He has had a total of 14 rides to the race without recording any wins.
Welsh National 'Trial' Races
The route to the Welsh National is very varied. Several Welsh National contenders have first run in the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury prior to arriving at Chepstow, while the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby is another stepping stone.
The top novices from the previous season regularly head to the Welsh National the following campaign, so races such as the RSA Chase can give punters some invaluable pointers.
Often horses that do well in this race run in the Aintree equivalent, so it is always worth keeping an eye out for all the latest Grand National odds.
Starting Prices
An analysis of the last 20 renewals will show that the biggest priced winner was Dream Alliance in 2009 when winning for Philip Hobbs at odds of 20/1 under jockey Tom O'Brien.
Horses at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals have held their own with there being a total of four winning favourites taking the race.
Our 888sport antepost NAP of the day for the Welsh Grand National on December 27th is Royale Pagaille @ 16/1
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
