I’m not afraid of high-weighted horses in a challenging Grand National.

At the start of the week, there were no readings available for Aintree, unlike meetings at other locations such as Leicester and Sedgefield. This absence of readings has led the author to suspect that the course executive may be intentionally withholding information about the ground conditions to prevent top horses from avoiding the event. Similar issues were observed at Cheltenham, with the author criticizing the initial going description.

The Turftrax website provides information on recent rainfall and the GoingStick readings at Aintree for previous meetings. The author points out that Aintree has had remarkably low readings, with the December fixture recording a 2.4 reading, the lowest they can recall. The low readings are attributed to heavy rain leading up to the races and considerable decompaction of the ground over the summer.

The author expresses a layman’s understanding, interpreting decompaction as a loosening of the ground that allows for more rain infiltration, explaining the extremely low GoingStick readings. It is apparent that the author is frustrated by the perceived lack of transparency regarding ground conditions at Aintree and the potential impact on the participation of top horses. They also emphasize the significance of recent rainfall and the implications of decompaction in contributing to the unusually low readings.