Many Grand National horses have been mentioned

as a possible winner of the 2010 John Smith's Grand National, but Ballyholland is one name rarely heard even though the horse appears to have a progressive profile and has been trained specifically for the race all season, writes Elliot Slater.

Trained by Colin McBratney in Crossgar, County Down, Ballyholland had been no more than a run-of-the-mill handicapper until last June when he won the Galway Plate Trial Handicap Chase at Down Royal. A month later he headed to Galway for the big event itself and under a fine ride from Andrew McNamara came with a powerful run from the second last to win the valuable and prestigious handicap by eight lengths, going away from his 19 rivals.

That victory provided McBratney with his biggest ever success and the notion that Ballyholland could be a Grand National horse suddenly became a serious option. Not seen until January this year when winning on his seasonal bow in a two-mile novice hurdle at Naas, Ballyholland then returned to fences following the publication of the National weights and ran well for a long way until being outpaced from the last behind Tranquil Sea in a Grade 2 event over a highly inadequate two-miles-one furlong.

Ballyholland's big Galway success showed that he has more stamina than originally thought and if ridden patiently there are good reasons for believing he could get into the thick of the Aintree Grand National action on April 10.

Connections have resisted the temptation to head to the Cheltenham Festival where the gelding could have tackled any one of a number of the major handicap chases, and instead have settled on a policy of keeping the nine-year-old fresh until the big day itself.

Quoted as low as 20/1 with some firms, Ballyholland is still available for a Grand National Free Bet at 33/1 in places and looks sure to give supporters a good run for their money.

This article is one of the Grand National horses in focus series