Grand National betting: 2026 Sefton Hurdle contenders and tip

Ahead of the 2026 Grand National, Coral previews all of the races taking place at Aintree, continuing with the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle on Friday, April 10.

2026 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle contenders and tip

A hard race to get to the bottom of, we have a full field of 30 runners taking on the Grand National fences here over the two miles and five furlongs.

Il Est Francais carries top weight, and has had wind surgery ahead of today, which might help him recapture his excellent form of previous seasons, having pulled up on his latest two starts, but it’s probably more likely that he will benefit from this in a run’s time. 

Madara is the favourite, trained by Dan Skelton, having won the Plate at Cheltenham lately, but is 10 pounds higher for that now and might struggle to land another top race. 

Of the Mullins contingent, Ile Atlantique is inconsistent and hard to make a strong case for, while Gentleman De Mee also looks to need to come further down the weights in order to get to the front. 

Coral ambassador Joe Tizzard’s Kripticjim ran well at Cheltenham in the Albert Bartlett to finish sixth out of 22, but he might be better suited to the sounder surface here. He could outrun his odds of 14/1 here and could represent each-way value. 

Olly Murphy’s Harbour Island seeks a hat-trick, having won his latest two starts at Taunton and Ffos Las, and he could be one to keep an eye on in the market before the off. 

Coral’s big-race tip: Kripticjim each-way at 14/1

View the Grand National 2026 odds and specials.

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.