Horse racing tips for Monday: Nolan holds all the aces in Irish Grand National

There is some brilliant racing action to look forward to on Racing TV on Bank Holiday Monday, with the BoyleSports Irish Grand National taking centre stage at Fairyhouse, and there's also some competitive racing action at Kempton, Redcar and Cork.

Make sure you tune into Sky Ch.426, or racingtv.com/videos, from 12.30pm for Mark Your Card where the racing action will be previewed ahead of an action-packed afternoon on the channel.

I am hoping the four selections below will help boost punting funds ahead of the Randox Grand National meeting which gets underway on Thursday, live on Racing TV. Best of luck.

Fortamour has been a model of consistency over the past couple of seasons, apart from one blip on his final start at Doncaster last year, but heavy ground was probably against him on that occasion.

The five-year-old returned with a promising run at Newcastle in January where he travelled well and raced keenly before the lack of a recent run took its toll in the closing stages.

Fortamour’s victory in a 0-105 handicap at Ascot last year looks strong, as the fifth finished runner-up in the Ayr Gold Cup next time out, and the fourth finished second in the Stewards’ Cup the previous month.

Ben Haslam’s charge is now just a 1lb higher than that victory, and a repeat of that performance should see him be competitive here, plus his trainer has been operating at a strike-rate of 23 per cent in the past fortnight.

Beacon Edge caught the eye in the Stayers’ Hurdle last time out, and providing this run does not come too soon, he looks the one to beat back in Grade Two company.

He travelled like the best horse in the Cheltenham feature, which was his first attempt over three miles, but it looked as though he did not quite see out the trip and faded to finish fourth behind Flooring Porter.

The step back down in trip is a positive here, and he defeated the useful Fury Road on his previous start, which is also strong form.

It is unlikely Beacon Edge has finished improving, and he ought to take all the beating over this course and distance which he finished third over when beaten less than a length behind Honeysuckle in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle in November.

From a racing fans perspective, it is a shame Tiger Roll is not running in the Irish Grand National this year, but also because Latest Exhibition now has to carry 11st 10lb.

However, the selection is without doubt the class horse in this race and carrying top-weight in these conditions makes it less of a chore.

The eight-year-old has never finished out of the first two in 11 career starts, and is a Grade One winner, albeit over hurdles, plus has found only the mighty Monkfish too good on his last two starts over fences at the highest level.

Although he finished runner-up, I thought it was a shade disappointing he could not get closer to Willie Mullins’ superstar last time out, although Nolan believes his horses were not at their best at the time, and Latest Exhibition probably found the trip on the sharp side.

His two career-best efforts have been over three miles, and he gave Monkfish plenty to think about over that trip at Leopardstown over Christmas. I have no doubt this new trip will not be an issue for Latest Exhibition, and I think Paul Nolan’s decision to bypass the Cheltenham Festival with his stable star will prove a good move here.

I also think it is worth backing Latest Exhibition’s stablemate Fitzhenry each-way in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National at 33-1.

Admittedly, he has been disappointing this season, but was ridden with different tactics last time out, and there were definite signs of a revival, with the nine-year-old finishing strongly to snatch third having been left with plenty to do in the Leinster National.

The JP McManus-owned gelding has an abundance of strong handicap form next to his name, including when placed in the Paddy Power Chase, and the Troytown Handicap Chase last season.

He now finds himself on a rating of 137, and certainly has the ability to go close if bouncing back to his best over a trip that should suit.