Welsh Grand National and more: horse racing news, tips and results – live
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Good morning from Kempton Park ahead of another day of outstanding festive racing action both here and in south Wales, where 15 runners are due to go to post for the Coral Welsh Grand National, the most valuable event of the Welsh racing year. It was a foggy start to the day in Wales, but conditions have steadily improved ahead of the first race at 12pm, and the action in the market for the big race has been livening up too. Monbeg Genius, formerly the property of controversial couple Doug Barrowman and Michelle Mone, was favourite yesterday morning but has been friendless in the betting and is out to 9-1, and there are now no fewer than four horses – Atlanta Brave, Jubilee Express, Iron Bridge and Evies Vladimir – vying for favouritism at odds of around 7-1.
![[A huge crowd turned up for the racing at Kempton on Boxing Day.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a252d9ace825ba054b2afe3b7f6141b9ff70ebec/64_729_7372_4424/master/7372.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Here at Kempton meanwhile, the big attraction is a head-to-head between two of the most exciting novice chase prospects around, Sir Gino and Ballyburn, in the Grade Two Wayward Lad Novice Chase at 1.55. Sir Gino, who is still just four years old, switches to fences after successfully deputising for his stable companion, Constitution Hill, in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle last month, and remains unbeaten after five starts over hurdles, while Willie Mullins’s Ballybur has just one defeat on his record and, unlike Sir Gino, a Cheltenham Festival win to his name in the two-and-a-half mile novice hurdle back in March.
There are some big names in action in Ireland too – Gaelic Warrior, last year’s Arkle Trophy winner, makes his seasonal debut there in a Grade One at 1.10 – and you can follow all the action, wherever it might be, here on the live blog as the day unfolds.
