Spoiler

And the winner of the 2009 Grand National will be…

… revealed in this brief interlude to help you make money on the nags

Don’t resort to picking names out of hats or playing a game of pin the tail on the form guide: our friends at chickendinner have come up with a foolproof plan to identify this year’s Grand National winner. They eliminated all the likely losers who don’t fit the profile of a champion until we were left with just one horse standing. Read on to find out who it was:

Step One
14 of the last 17 winners started in the top eight of the betting. Therefore it must be one of these guys (three are joint-eighth):
My Will, Butler’s Cabin, Rambling Minister, State of Play, Hear The Echo, Parsons Legacy, Darkness, Comply or Die, Black Apalachi or Irish Invader

Step Two
10 of the last 13 winners have been aged either 9 or 10. That means we say goodbye to Rambling Minister (11), Hear The Echo (8), Parsons Legacy (11) and Irish Invader (8). Still fighting are:
My Will, Butler’s Cabin, State of Play, Darkness, Comply or Die and Black Apalachi

Step Three
No horse since Red Rum in 1974 has won the Grand National in successive years. That rules out Comply or Die, leaving us with:
My Will, Butler’s Cabin, State of Play, Darkness and Black Apalachi

Step Four
A century has passed without a French-bred winner. That’s bad news for My Will and Butler’s Cabin. Still in with a chance are:
State of Play, Darkness and Black Apalachi

Step Five
Only one of the last 19 winners have been carrying over 11 stone. As State of Play (11-02) and Black Apalachi (11-05) have been heavily handicapped that means the winner should be…

Darkness!

—

Here’s our super special money making tip:

Boylesports are offering a free £20 bet if you stake £10 after opening an account with them. Put £10 on darkness to win, and then use the free £20 as insurance by betting on a weekend event with short odds (Manchester Utd to win, Button to win the GP)

Click this link to take advantage of this offer, which ends on Saturday.

If you already have a Boylesports account then take advantage of one of these special offers instead:

Bet365 are also offering a £200 Free Bet Basket while Paddy Power offer a free matched bet of up to £25. Both firms are also paying each-way on five places.

• Aintree
• Betting Information
• Free Bets
• Grand national
• Horse Racing
• Horsies
• Paddy Power