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The Coral Welsh National – Chepstow

27 December 2006

The Coral Welsh National

The Coral Welsh National (or The Welsh Grand National) is one of the major events of the jump-racing season and takes place at the end of December each year. The three mile five and a half furlong race is a handicap chase and is not only a popular race to bet on, but also provides horse racing gamblers with hints for some of the other major races of the season, such as The Grand National at Aintree in April and The Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Two other feature races held as part of the Coral Welsh National programme that may interest those wishing to make a bet are the two mile Grade One Finale Junior Hurdle and the Grade 2 Championship Bumper.

History of The Coral Welsh National

The first Welsh Grand National took place at Ely racecourse in 1895. Ely racecourse closed in 1939, and in the 1940s The Welsh Grand National found a new permanent home at Chepstow racecourse.

The race has been known to produce some surprise winners as it is a tough track and has undulations that can cause problems for the jockeys and horses.

Previous Winners of the Coral Welsh National

Many of the previous winners of The Coral Welsh National have also bagged other major jump-racing championship titles. In 1976, the winner, Rag Trade, trained by Fred Rimmell and ridden by John Burke, had already won the Grand National at Aintree in that calendar year The winner of the 1982 Coral Welsh Grand National, Corbiere, trained by Jenny Pitman, went on to win the Aintree Grand National the following year.

Earth Summit’s 1987 Welsh National win helped to put him and trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies in the record books for being the first horse to win the Welsh, Scottish and English Grand Nationals.

A number of horses have also won both The Coral Welsh National and The Cheltenham Gold Cup. Another of trainer Jenny Pitman’s horses, Burrough Hill Lad won at Chepstow in 1983 and Cheltenham in 1984. Cool Ground took first place at The Welsh National in 1990 and won the Gold Cup in 1992, and Master Oats came in first at Chepstow in 1994 and followed up his success by winning at Cheltenham in 1995.

The last five winners of The Coral Welsh National were:

Betting on The Coral Welsh National

If you are considering placing a bet on The Coral Welsh National, it’s worth knowing that most of the horses that have won the event have been placed at Chepstow in previous races.

One tip is to look closely at the results of what is known as The Rehearsal Chase, which is usually held on the first Saturday in December. Rehearsal Chase Day features a number of races, the most prominent of which is The Rehearsal Chase itself (also known as The Tote John Hughes Chase”).

A number of horses placed in The Tote John Hughes Chase have gone on to win The Coral Welsh National. In 2000, Jocks Cross came second in The Rehearsal Chase and went on to win the Welsh national, as did Bindaree in 2003 and Silver Birch in 2004.

However, it’s also worth paying attention to the results of the other races that take place on The Rehearsal Chase Day. In 1999, Edmond (trained by Henry Daly and ridden by Richard Johnson) won The Jack Brown Bookmakers Steeplechase and was first past the post in The Coral Welsh National less than a month later.

When studying the horses’ form, it’s worth bearing in mind that the course at Chepstow is a real test of stamina, and that front-runners have a tendency to do well in this event.

Betting on Horseracing Events – Further Information

The Coral Welsh Grand National is just one of many events in the horseracing calendar. Check out the other forthcoming events!

If you want to bet on the Coral Welsh Grand National, or on any of the other races taking place at the Coral Welsh National Meeting, but want tips on how to bet on horseracing - visit the Horse Racing – How To Bet section.

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