Aintree weather watch - what ground can we expect for the National? A year ago I Am Maximus won the Grand National at Aintree on ground officially described as 'soft'. The Willie Mullins-trained runner is set to defend the crown on Saturday April 5th, but what sort of conditions can we expect underfoot at the Merseyside layout this time around? Spring conditions forecast The weather forecast in the days leading up to the Grand National Festival would suggest a repeat of last year's 'soft' ground to be unlikely. The long-range forecast predicts a dry start to April on Merseyside, with daytime temperatures hovering in the mid-teens from Sunday 30th March onwards and right through the three-day Grand National Festival at Aintree, while at night it will be around three degrees. From Thursday 3rd-Saturday 5th April, Aintree can expect sunny conditions and light winds, most likely to precipitate drying conditions for all three days of the National meeting. How do they measure Aintree conditions? Those seeking to keep a close watch on the weather can do so via the Aintree website, where 'The Going' is updated constantly. For the Grand National meeting, 96 grid locations in total are assessed using an electromechanical GoingStick on the Mildmay, Hurdles and National courses. Three "penetration" and three "shear" measurements, representative of forces exerted by the horse's hoof when it is in contact with the ground, are taken in each grid. Volumetric soil moisture content data is also collected, meaning that 648 scientifically generated measurements contribute to each Going Report produced. The data is logged every minute 24 hours a day and typically refreshes every five minutes, so any punters plotting their Grand National picks with a focus on the conditions can stay in the know at all times. Recent trends offer the clues Not since Many Clouds won in 2015 has the Grand National been run on ground described as 'good'. In the intervening time, the race has typically been run on 'good to soft' - Rule The World's 2016 score was on 'soft' and Tiger Roll's first win in 2018 when it was 'heavy', before I Am Maximus prevailed on 'soft' last time. The safety of the horses is paramount and Aintree Racecourse does everything it can to ensure that is at the forefront of their planning. That means the last four of the last five renewals have been run on 'good to soft' and that is the most likely scenario again, with the drying conditions that are forecast leading up to the race. The Aintree officials are watering the course to protect the ground from getting too fast. With little or no rain forecast in the week before the race, they had no choice but to turn the sprinklers on. Aintree has already started watering for the Grand National meeting, with the course, like many in Britain, in the midst of a dry spell. Jon Pullin, Aintree's temporary clerk of the course, had this to say a fortnight out from the meeting: "Like other areas of the country, we've had the dry spell here as well and that's been going on for the last couple of weeks. "Irrigation has commenced on both tracks just to retain the moisture and stop it drying out too much." Get €40 in FREE bets with the Tote sign up offer ahead of the Aintree Festival
