National Fever!

Forget, if you can for a moment, the sad number of horses who have died in pursuit of an essentially trivial sporting event. Once a year, the Grand National takes over British life for a few hours, leading to people who would never dream of visiting a betting shop stumbling over tiny pens and specialised slips for dummies. Every office has a sweepstake or two on the go.

The Burns household is no different and with the increasing cost of laying bets, we thought we’d try an innovation this year – our own Sweepstake using the BBC’s handy print-out Sweepstake kit. The prizes are small, and only for first and second place, but here are the picks, pre-race.

Gordon – Cloudy Lane
Ugly Cat – Chelsea Harbour
Crazy Cats – Snowy Morning
Goldfish – Nowhere
Geoffrey – Comply or Die
Bill – Ollie Magern
Sergeant Blackberry – Stan
Bobby Dan – Black Appalachi
Rabbit – Hear the Echo
Jorge – Persists Leap
Douglas – My Will
Mike – Eurotrek
Mr Tickle – State of Play
Derek Jr. – Big Fella Thanks
Alex/Pierre – Mon Mome
Balikavalata – Silver Birch
Little H – Butlers Cabin
Brian – Offshore Account
The Mod Duck – Parsons Legacy
Gerald – Reveillez
Snowman – Fundamentalist
Horror Ora – Golden Flight
The Dog – L’Ami
Tigree – Battle Cry
Mads – Cornish Sett
Pingu – Fleet Street
Mario – Musica Bella
Moo – Can’t Buy Time
Ugly Bear – Darkness
Flatcat – Irish Invader
Frank – Rambling Minster
Bear with no name – Southern Vic
Bradley Bear – Kilbigganblade
Rodney – Brooklyn Brownie
Tigger – Himalayan Trail
Laughing Red Nose – Arteea
Armadillo – Ceriam
Polly Piggy – Idle Talk
Sens Moose – Kalami
The Monkeys – Zabenz

(Typing that was a nightmare and apologies for any incorrect names!!)

Results and photos to follow …