Grand National Tips: Mark Milligan assesses the chances of the leading Irish hopes

• Are their places in the market justified?

• Mark is against last year's winner at the prices

• Willie Mullins 7-y-o has a touch of class

At the time of writing, we're exactly one week away from the Grand National and Betfair have kindly asked me to put together a run-down of the top five Irish horses in the current market and whether I think their odds are justified or not.

With a bumper number of entries from across the Irish Sea this year, there's a strong chance the prize will be heading that way once again, so let's get into looking at the main protagonists.

Noble Yeats - 8/1

Last year's winner Noble Yeats confounded the trends boys by becoming the first 7-y-o winner of the race since 1940, springing a 50/1 surprise off a mark of 147 and providing his outgoing rider Sam Waley-Cohen with a fairytale win on the day he retired.

However, Emmet Mullins' charge has proven that win to be no fluke and has gone on to become a top-class chaser in his just his second season over the bigger obstacles, winning a listed contest at Wexford before returning to Aintree to win the Grade 2 Many Clouds Chase in December.

His most recent run was a perfectly respectable effort in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham, where he finished fourth to Galopin Des Champs, doing all his best work late in the day.

A mark of 166 will make life tougher for Noble Yeats this time around and I'd rather be against than with him at the current prices.

Market Position Justified: No

Delta Work - 9/1

Beaten 22 lengths into third by Noble Yeats in last year's renewal, Delta Work ran much better than the distance beaten implied, finding himself well back following mistakes at the fourth and first Becher's but somehow managed to pass most who remained from there, even looming up briefly in the straight.

That effort understandably told from the last and he faded on the run-in, but his first experience of the National fences won't be lost on Delta Work and he could well improve on that third-place finish this time around.

Gordon Elliott's 10-y-o has tuned up for the race in identical fashion to last season, winning the Cross Country Chase at Cheltenham for a second successive time, and he actually gets in off a pound lower than in 2022.

While clearly not massive value at the current prices, those odds do seem to fairly reflect his chance in this year's contest.

Market Position Justified: Yes

Any Second Now - 11/1

Second to Noble Yeats off a mark of 159 last year, Any Second Now's trainer Ted Walsh has made no secret of his views on this year's mark of 167, which he considers unduly harsh on the 11-y-o.

To be fair, Walsh probably has a point, as although Any Second Now appears to still retain plenty of ability even at his age, his performances on Timeform ratings this season haven't quite matched the level he was running to last term.

Obviously, the 'Aintree factor' as it's become known in recent years will have played heavily into the handicapper's thinking when it came to allotting a mark for one who ran so well last year, but it's still going to take a mighty effort for Any Second Now to go one better under 11st 12lb.

His recent prep win over 2m 4f at Navan will give connections heart that Any Second Now can run a big race once again but I suspect the odds are very much stacked against him improving on last year's finishing position.

Market Position Justified: No

Gaillard Du Mesnil - 12/1

As mentioned in the profile of last year's winner Noble Yeats, 7-y-os don't have a great record in the National, though if there's one of that age who could run a big race this year it's surely the Willie Mullins-trained Gaillard Du Mesnil.

Despite being technically still a novice, he has plenty of experience over fences and also has a touch of class to go with his proven stamina, a trait that was very much to the fore when he took the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham last time.

Gaillard Du Mesnil had contested Grade 1 novices on five of his previous six starts, producing a whole string of smart efforts before his latent stamina won the day at the Festival.

That win showed he has staying power in abundance, and he looks the ideal type to flourish over the National fences provided he can take to them at the first time of asking.

Bringing in the sort of profile rarely seen in this race, a mark of 155 looks a fair one for a horse who could well be better than a handicapper moving forward.

Market Position Justified: Yes

Mr Incredible - 12/1

Willie Mullins also has the enigmatic Mr Incredible towards the head of the market but there's no doubt this quirky character comes with plenty of strings attached.

A winner on chasing debut for Henry de Bromhead in 2021, he looked a smart prospect at the time but temperament quickly got the better of him and he refused to race at Leopardstown just a couple of starts later. He followed that by looking most unenthusiastic at Tramore last April and a switch to the Mullins yard then ensued.

Brought down early in his first start for the Closutton handler, Mr Incredible went on to run well when second in the Classic Chase at Warwick in January but his quirks seemed to resurface when third in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham last time.

Looking likely to finish a bit closer before making a mistake at the last, it's fair to say he didn't seem to put it all in on the run-in after that error, finishing with more in the tank than he looked to be giving.

Stamina is very much Mr Incredible's strong suit, and it could well be that a first try over the National fences can reignite his enthusiasm, but he's a risky proposition for me.

Market Position Justified: No