Watering continues with aim of good to soft ground for National course

With the 2021 Grand National now just four days away, we've outlined everything you need to know about ground conditions as racing gears up for the Aintree showpiece on Saturday, April 10.

The official going description

As of Tuesday morning, the ground is good to soft, good in places on all three courses used at Aintree's Grand National meeting – the hurdle, chase and National course.

What does the forecast say?

It will stay dry on Tuesday and Wednesday and rain on Thursday morning before drying out. Further rain is expected on Friday and it will then remain dry up and until the Randox Grand National.

View from the course

Sulekha Varma, clerk of the course at Aintree, said on Tuesday morning: "We're good to soft, good in places and we'll carry on watering today.

"We're putting between 3mm and 6mm on the Mildmay, with the aim of getting that to good to soft. The Grand National course will have another water tonight and I expect will be good to soft all over by tomorrow morning. We'll aim to keep it the same for Thursday."

"The forecast is predominantly dry, it'll just be showers passing, and other than that we'll have the odd flakes of snow. The daytime temperatures are high enough that any snow wouldn't be an issue."

What's the latest betting?

Cloth Cap remains a solid 4-1 favourite across the board, while there has been recent support for leading fancy Any Second Now who has been cut to 9-1 (from 10). Farclas is another mover, into to 20-1 (from 25) on Tuesday morning.

Which key runners will it suit?

Burrows Saint's three best performances, according to Racing Post Ratings, have come on ground similar to what he will experience at Aintree on Saturday.

Magic Of Light and Anibale Fly have both produced their best efforts on good to soft going and are live each-way players.

Read more on the 2021 Grand National festival:

What will the 2021 Randox Grand National winner look like?

'I should have fears but I don't - in my guts I think he's a National horse'

Who do our experts fancy for the Grand National at Aintree on Saturday?

Check out the Racing Post Grand National microsite for the latest tips and odds for the big race. The best Grand National betting advice and exclusive free betting offers all in one place.