National backing for O'Neill's challengers

The betting on Saturday's Grand National has hotted up with bookmakers reporting heavy support for the Jonjo O'Neill-trained Clan Royal.

The JP McManus-owned nine-year-old, not seen on a racecourse since winning the Becher Chase over the National fences in November, has been backed from 14-1 to 11-1 with Coral and Stanley.

There has also been support for O'Neill's other Aintree hope, Joss Naylor, who has been cut from 16-1 to 14-1 by William Hill.

O'Neill never won the race as a jockey but his first runner as a trainer, Carbury Cross, finished a creditable seventh in last year's race.