What A Friend Profile

What A Friend will be one of the leading contenders for the Grand National and one of the most talked about with a famous owner, Sir Alex Ferguson. Paul Nicholls trains this eight-year-old so the horse is in more than safe hands.

What A Friend is one of the most exciting prospects for the Grand National this year for a variety of reasons. What A Friend has a slight edge over the rest of the field as recent form has been good and the Bay Gelding is in superb condition.

First Race for What A Friend

The first race for What A Friend also produced the first Sports Betting win for the horse. The debut came over 17 furlongs at Newton Abbot on May 21 2007. What A Friend produced a solid first race, sat in the middle of the pack before pushing on at the end to win by three lengths.

The first race for What A Friend was backed up by a second good performance on November 28 2007 at Chepstow. What A Friend was again held up, this time over 20 furlongs, and could have won the race only being beaten by a length right at the end.

Best Win for What A Friend

The best win for What A Friend came over 25 furlongs at Aintree in a Grade 1 race on April 8 2010. The field for this race was only five runners but all of the horses competing were of a good quality.

The Best Win for What A Friend was a classic case of a horse sitting in the middle before again challenging well at the end of the race. What A Friend secured a three and a half length win under the jockeyship of Ruby Walsh.

Strengths of What A Friend

There are many strengths of What A Friend that have helped the horse to seven wins, three second places and a third place finish from 15 races. The biggest of all strengths of What A Friend is the ability of this horse to stay on over a long distance.

The racing style is the best out of all strengths of What A Friend because it is what has led to the wins for the horse. This racing style is classic where What A Friend will sit in and use the pace from the rest of the field before challenging late.

Nicholls has done well to improve the strengths of What A Friend that were evident from the very first race for the horse. The stamina of this animal has been improved tremendously which has now made three mile plus trips second nature to the eight-year-old.

What A Friend in 2011

What A Friend in 2011 is a story of two races that have produced a second and a fourth place finish. The fourth place finish came in the Gold Cup race at the Cheltenham Festival which is the biggest race in jump racing other than the Grand National. What A Friend in 2011 only has room to get better and better.