Our senior form analyst Jamie Lynch weighs in on Sky Sports Racing Live as he weighs in on the credentials of the 10 best candidates for Friday’s top-flight race at Chepstow.

The Coral Welsh National, which takes place on Friday at 2.50pm, is a historic event that has stood the test of time since its beginnings in the 19th century. It still has strong appeal, and this year’s entries highlight that.

Early December track trials have been a key pointer to the race in recent years, but we have no such clue this time after the loss to Storm Darragh, so to help with homework, here’s a summary of the Chepstow showpiece of the top contenders and a (pre-stated) verdict on the best choice.

Watch the Coral Welsh Grand Prix live from Chepstow on Friday 27th December on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519).

Eves Vladimir

Coach: GP Cromwell

An interesting contender from an Irish stable with an excellent record in British Marauders (21 wins over the last three seasons). The lad sat out 18 months on the sidelines after laying the foundations, but took off last season while promising greater heights in the future and fell in the bottom three at Potterstown upon his comeback , but still stayed in the game. He has hidden depths, but one thing that’s clear from his record is that he loves the dirt.

Fontaine Colanges

Miss V. Williams

The runner had a good finish at Haydock (beating Monbeg Genius and company) but that was not unusual for her as freshness is usually the catch-up Her best time, and she had a poor second start, falling behind in fifth and fourth. Finishing ninth in previous seasons – a problematic pattern for Chepstow. On the face of it, her weight increase from 8 to 148 pounds during the Haydock demolition job was anything but cruel, but history warned of this happening, and she’d gotten lost in the field in the past.

Gallia de Letex

D Skelton

Her two attempts at the marathon were arguably her best ever results – second in the Classic Chase (since her return) and eighth in the Grand National, when she was still In a tight race towards the end. She hasn’t hit the top line so far this season, but the ground hasn’t been soft enough for her yet, and she looked as good as a rookie for most of the Coral Gold Cup. This game was tailor-made for her.

iron bridge

JoJo and AJ O’Neal

When assessing his second place in this race last year, it would have been better to focus on the 17 horses he beat rather than the one he failed to beat (34m behind runaway winner Nazaram), and since in Running a tough race, he is now 6 pounds lighter on his handicap. competition, rather than any loss of ability. His reappearance at Carlisle was hardly an adequate endurance test and so he was all set to finish third behind Val Dancer in the under 12lb 1lbs. , allowing him to show off his talents. He was also noted for his consistent Momberg talent.

I will do it

Thomas S

He’s been there, done that, and got a few T-shirts. The 2021 Welsh national hero, who came close to winning the event at top weight last year without Nazaram (just behind Iron Bridge), was paired with a 7lb conditioner, as here . He turns 12 in a few days but his mileage is relatively low and he may be keeping it fresh despite his long absence as he remembers winning the Classic Chase for the first time in 2023.

jubilee express

Thomas S

After just ten runs, he was minimally exposed, but he’s already shown what he’s got, a feisty loach, highlighted by his peak performance last season when he not only used heavy weights, but also used Haydock weights object, grinding out a distance of more than 3.5 meters. As soon as he crossed the finish line that day, Sam Thomas probably had a plan in place for the Welsh National, a fitting stay test considering the record achieved at the Welsh National on the first time and the lack of preparation running It didn’t frustrate him that much. A year later, Iwilldoit won the Classic Chase.

Momberg Genius

JoJo and AJ O’Neal

His third start at the 2023 Ultima behind Corach Rambler and Fastorslow is still stuck in my mind, a win he hasn’t had since A miracle, but at least he started the season better than he ended last season with Haydock second (Fontaine Collonges). With his tools and talent he could easily win, but trusting him to do so was another matter, and the trust issues extended to the endurance of Chepstow, who was running a marathon for the first time.

nibbles

G Elliott

The six-year-old contender is full of youthful energy and has already won five titles in the past 20 years. He was a surprise at odds of 20-1 last time out at Troytown when there were nine runners in the yard, but the problem for the Welsh national team is not the added Tests (shaped like an outright stopper) but the added points, Gained 9 pounds.

On the face of it this may seem a bit much as his performance doesn’t match up to Navan’s title, but the simple fact underpinning his chances is that he is an unexposed horse from Ireland’s superpower stable.

where it all begins

G Elliott

He was winless in his first seven chases but finally showed his stamina in the Grand National Trial at Punchestown, which made the difference (winning by 16 lengths on heavy ground) and may have done well for Sacrificed his chance at the Irish National by running the Kim Muir at Cheltenham. He finished fourth behind Inothewayurthinkin. There’s still a sense of unfinished business with him, especially in terms of endurance, but even if we’re dealing with Gordon Elliott, it’s a big ask coming in for the first time.

your own story

Miss Lucinda V. Russell

You don’t need a degree to diagnose the problem with your own story, a sure example of this for ‘Second Inflammation’, who finished runner-up over fences at least eight times, including the endurance races at Penchestown and Kelso last May. Sai, on the last border with the country. He’s going to be good for a long time, but if he can’t win these games, how can he win this game?

Jamie Lynch’s Sentence

People say that once bitten by a snake, you will be afraid of ropes for ten years, but I endured it Galea de Lito For the Coral Gold Cup, and thought it could recoup its losses in the face of a more suitable test, the company is less hot, the ride is longer and, most importantly, the ground is noticeably softer. If Dan Skelton could design a game for her, I’m pretty sure it would look a lot like this.

Watch the Coral Welsh Grand Prix live from Chepstow on Friday 27th December on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519).