David Pipe has made no secret of the fact that he is preparing the talented dual purpose performer Junior for a crack at the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree in April having missed the cut last term, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed that there has been support for the eight-year-old across the board with most firms having laid their 25/1 and some now offering just 16/1 about Junior winning this season’s renewal of the great race, writes Elliot Slater.

The Middleham Park Racing-owned Singspiel gelding has been a tremendous servant to connections and last summer proved himself a particularly useful sort on the level when making every post a winning one to give his owners a day to remember when landing the Ascot Stakes by five-lengths from Elyaadi. He went on to finish an excellent second to Ghimaar on the Goodwood Stakes before reverting back to the winter game with a solid effort in running third to the smart Midnight Chase in the Grade 3 Morson Group Handicap Chase at Cheltenham 12 months ago. People looking for Grand National free bets can’t rule him out.

Second on New Year’s Day in a well contested Cheltenham handicap hurdle, Junior wasn’t seen again until reappearing at the Cheltenham Festival where he put up a stunning performance in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Handicap Chase to run his rivals ragged over the extended three miles, scoring by a memorable 24-length from course specialist Faasel. Spoken of straight after that win as a potential Grand National winner three weeks later, there was much disappointment for ante-post backers when Pipe’s horse missed the cut but now off a much higher rating he is all but guaranteed a run.

The market support for him suggests that Junior is in very good shape at home and it would not surprise if he was campaigned over hurdles until February to protect his current rating ahead of the publication of the Grand National weights in the middle of that month.