Loyal punters can Enjoy Irish National payoff

At some stage most regular punters will have done it. Studied the Grand National form, weighed up all the options, placed a wager on three or four and seen one come down at the first fence.

That was me on Saturday. Although I didn't draw a blank this year, I backed four, three of which finished, with only one yielding me any profit, that being Delta Work.

I thought for a long way that Longhouse Poet was going to be the one but he seemed to hit the wall at the four-mile mark after a fabulous effort. Some of them just don't get every yard.

Anyway, I digress. That first fence 'faller' (he unseated actually, after stumbling on landing) was Enjoy D'Allen. I liked his profile and the fact that JP McManus had bought him specifically for Aintree.

That said, his early departure may now give those famed green-and-gold silks a chance of being carried home in front on their home patch. Trainer Ciaran Murphy has confirmed that the gelding is none the worse for his first fence mishap and could take his chance at Fairyhouse next week.

If he does, he remains very interesting. He was third in the race last year behind 150/1 winner Freewheelin Dylan and the form of his three-length third to Schoolboy Hours in a valuable Leopardstown handicap chase in December puts him right in the picture for the traditional Easter Monday contest.

So, we know he gets this trip, his jumping is solid (Aintree was the first time he'd ever failed to complete) and he is very versatile with regard to the going, so he ticks plenty of boxes.

We have to hope that he has not gone 'over the top' nine days after the event for which he had originally been primed but that looks a risk worth taking for a horse who is trading at anything between 16/1 - 25/1 a week before the race.

There are plenty still in at this stage who ran at Aintree and perhaps will have had the edge taken off them, if indeed that run. Stattler looks a worthy favourite and, of course, bypassed a trip to Liverpool.

He may well prove good enough but he's less than half of the worst odds on offer about Enjoy D'Allen and I'm sticking with him. If you can get non-runner, no bet, then I'd suggest you do so.