Wayne Bailey / 12 February 2009 Free Bet

I don't want to sound like a broken record and I'm not normally one for ranting, but as an Irishman, I wouldn't feel happy writing about the Grand National unless I'm allowed to have a pop at senior British handicapper Phil Smith for his treatment of our horses.

Fair enough, Irish horses have dominated the race in recent years and it's always going to be tricky assessing animals that run in another country - but it seems that Smith is so afraid of an Irish horse getting one over him that he's dished out weight indiscriminately to any horse trained in the Emerald Isle.

Don't get me wrong - I respect Smith and the other handicappers. Indeed, I think they do a great job in the main, and I appreciate how hard it must be to give each horse weight, especially when it comes to foreign animals. But I think they've called it wrong here and they are becoming so paranoid about the Irish 'landing a touch' that they've (ironically) made this great handicap completely unfair, and won't accept that an Irish horse may have what it takes to win, plain and simple.

Take Snowy Morning for example, a horse that finished third last year carrying 11st 1lb. This year, he's carrying just one pound less at 11st - despite the fact that his form has taken a huge slide for the worse.

Smith made it clear that he'd be tough on Irish hurdlers trying to run off an easy chase mark, and that our horses should have a number of runs over fences if they want a proper mark - a good decision in fairness. Mullins took that advice, and Snowy Morning has been chasing all season. But despite his obvious lack of form recently, he's just about running off the same weight as last year. It doesn't make sense. Coming into the race last year, he had won two hurdles and finished third in two chases. This year, his latest form in chases reads 256F. I can see why Mullins and co are so angry and that's just one example of many.

But I digress. On to the race itself - often described as the greatest steeplechase of all. And while the race is certainly great, how many of us have managed to pick the winner in our lifetime? Personally, I've only managed twice - once as a ten year old kid (Mr Frisk) when my system of picking a trainer with the same name as me came up trumps!

The other win was last year, following an old method I'd read in several publications, most lately in the excellent Racing and Football Outlook newspaper. I adapted it to my liking and amazingly, it produced the top five horses home from seven selections.

I posted the method on a site I co-own www.letsbet.ie pre-race, and the success story even managed to end up on the BBC website which was great fun. I don't want to call it a system as I think each horse in the race should be looked at in isolation - however, as a quick way to narrow down the field, it's been incredibly successful:

Breeding
This is an area that most punters overlook in the main, and the country in which the horse was bred can have a huge impact on its career and the type of race it can handle. Irish-bred horses have a great record in the race so look for the letters IRE beside the horse's name.

Official Rating
Focus on horses that have an official rating that is NOT in the top ten. The handicapper usually has the measure of the better horses and it's worth looking down the list for something less obvious.

Age
Amberleigh House won the race aged 12 back in 2004, but most of the wins and places in recent years have been taken up by horses aged eight to ten.

Price
We'll have to wait until the day for this one, but stick to horses priced 20/1 or less. We all love trying to be Tom Segal and looking for big prices, but in general, the market is fairly reliable when it comes to picking those horses that will win or place and it helps narrow down the field considerably.

Again, I must state that each horse should be considered carefully and I'm not saying that you should only consider the above variables. However it's a good way to narrow down the field, and if it's as successful as last year, a certain Irishman will be very happy indeed!