Ballabriggs Profile

Ballabriggs is a ten-year-old Bay Gelding due to race in the Grand National for trainer Donald McCain Junior. Ballabriggs has a solid record in jump racing of six wins, seven second place finishes and one third place finish.

Ballabriggs has a lot of experience in racing over jumps and long distances and is one of the strongest candidates to win the Grand National. The horse was bred from Presenting and Papoose (both Ireland) and has always been part of the McCain stables.

First Career Race of Ballabriggs

The first career race of Ballabriggs came on May 14 2006 at Uttoxeter where the horse finished an impressive fifth out of 15 runners. This debut showed that Ballabriggs is best when tucked inside the leading pack.

The first career race of Ballabriggs was over a 16 furlong distance and the horse showed superb stamina and charisma looking extremely comfortable. This was the first encouraging sign for the McCain family that they had a potential star.

First Win for Ballabriggs

The first win for Ballabriggs did not come until some time after the first race for the horse. Ballabriggs raced at Bangor on March 29 2008 over 24 furlongs and won by a distance of four and a half lengths.

Ballabriggs was tucked inside the chasing group before slowly working a path to the front of the pack. The stamina of the horse was far too great for the rest of the field to cope with and Ballabriggs finished well.

The Strengths of Ballabriggs

The strengths of Ballabriggs are common for a lot of horses that are successful in long distance jump racing. The main strength of this horse is stamina because this makes the difference between winning (staying on) and losing (falling away) in longer races. 

The strengths of Ballabriggs can also be attributed to the trainer, McCain Junior. McCain has clearly treated this horse very well throughout its racing career because behaviour and attitude are two areas where there is no concern at all.

The Weaknesses of Ballabriggs 

There are a few areas of this horse that can still do with improving and the weaknesses of Ballabriggs are a little worrying. Ballabriggs has a very particular way of running in races and if this doesnít go as planned, the horse has little in terms of a response.

The weaknesses of Ballabriggs can also be defined by the fact this horse likes to run in a comfortably paced race. Ballabriggs can fall too far out of touch if a strong leader starts to get away. 

Ballabriggs' Recent Form

Ballabriggs' recent form has been superb as the horse has won five times in the last six races and finished second in the other. These five wins came back-to-back between January 22 2010 and January 31 2011.

Ballabriggs' recent form suggests the horse is in perfect condition and has a very good chance of winning the Grand National. These five wins also include a first place at the Cheltenham Festival in 2010 which confirms the horse has no problem on big racecourses and with big crowds.