Grand National betting: 2026 Aintree Foxhunters contenders and tip

Ahead of the 2026 Grand National, Coral previews all of the races taking place at Aintree, continuing with the Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase on Thursday, April 9.

2026 Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase contenders and tip

25 runners go to post here for what should be a highly competitive affair. 

Joe O’Shea’s Barton Snow was the winner of the Cheltenham Festival equivalent race, and has now won seven consecutive races. He goes on any ground, any course and any trip, so is hard to argue with here. 

Dan Skelton’s Unexpected Party was a high class horse under Rules, and has translated that ability into the Hunter Chase sphere, winning his two starts in this class so far this year under Heidi Palin. Neither ground nor trip will inconvenience him, but he is an 11-year-old now and one of the older contenders, so could be vulnerable to younger horses. 

Its On The Line won this race is 2024 and stayed true to his form when finishing second again at the Cheltenham Festival. There is little room for excuses here and he ought to be at the sharp end here. 

At a price, Densworth might be worth keeping an eye on for a place. He is bred to suit this trip, though mostly ran over shorter in his days racing under Rules, and could be quietly suited to this race. 

Great Notions has seemingly begun to reclaim some better form, after a good run to finish second last time at Sedgefield. He could outrun his odds but is going to be up against it here. 

Running for Paul Nicholls, Golden Son could run a good race under Olive Nicholls. He was a respectable fourth at Cheltenham last month and might prefer this flatter track. 

Coral’s big-race tip: Its On The Line at 9/2 

View the Grand National 2026 odds and specials.

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.