Martin Dixon's Grand National day tips: "I rate him a strong each-way pick"

Given that he was a very well-backed winner on his racecourse debut at Hereford in November I suspect Montemares has always been very highly regarded by Tom Lacey and he's made great strides in his short career to date, winning three of his four starts.

Having looked so green on that first start only five months ago I was seriously impressed by how much more professional he looked returning from a short break at Kelso in February, powering through the race and landing that Grade Two contest with real authority. 

This is a further step up in grade but I like the fact that, unlike many of his rivals here, he missed Cheltenham and has been trained to prime at this meeting and I think there's a lot more improvement to come. He's 15/2 at the time of writing and I rate him a very strong each-way bet. 

Anthony Honeyball trained Sam Brown to win this race in 2022 and I think his Leave of Absence has very solid each way claims at 14/1.

He's been extremely consistent over fences - his only disappointment came on unsuitably testing ground - and conditions should be perfect for him here.

There's no doubt he's competitively handicapped as he's off the same mark as when beaten just a head at Ascot in December and I thought he ran an eye-catching race in the Ultima last time when staying on into fifth from a long way back. Sam Twiston-Davies takes over and I'd expect a more positive ride than last time. 

Obviously the Grand National is a vastly competitive race to have a punt on so I think I can afford two bites of the cherry! Good luck with whatever you pick in this year's race but I'm on Monty's Star, who I think is nicely weighted on his keeping-on fifth in the Savills earlier this season. 

He's a very honest, likeable type and I thought that day he shaped as if he's crying out for this extreme stamina test, whilst in the Irish Gold Cup last time he went with lots of zest for a long way at a time of year when the De Bromhead horses weren't firing. 

Oscars Brother is one of the really progressive types in the line up having climbed the chasing ranks swiftly in his novice season over fences. He's an assured jumper and a very strong stayer, another that I'm hopeful will improve again for this extreme trip.