I am a tad tardy with this post for the Grand National and I was wondering whether to post at all. Two horses died in last year’s race and even though they’ve changed the fences this year, it’s still a crazy race, however much people love it. The rest of my family want to have a punt however so I have decided that I will too.
There are of course one hundred and one different ways to try and predict the winner of the Grand National and when I was googling the runners for the race, I came across a couple of crackers.
A John Smith advert that jokes “Choose your friend’s brother’s dog’s mate’s tip” and a second stating that a mathematician called William Hartson has come up with a formula to predict the winner. It goes like this; the horse will have a one-word name, begin with the letters S, M, C or R and be 9 or 10 years old. So there you have it and you may also have your own intuitive way of choosing the winner but here are my predictions using astrology (chart below).
The Ascendant of the chart is Virgo which makes the ruling planet Mercury in Pisces in the 7th house. I found myself saying “and on his own” when I saw the Mercury as it’s all alone in the 7th house which is interesting when you realise that one of the horses is called On His Own ridden by top jockey Ruby Walsh. It’s got to be worth a shout.
In the chart, Mercury is back at the exact place it was when it turned retrograde on 23rd February 2013 so it is finally out of its shadow phase and Mercury has a clean sweep through Pisces making no more aspects. I did quickly check the charts of Ruby Walsh and Tony McCoy, two of the top jockeys, and they are both Taureans, one of the earth signs. It makes sense if you think about the jockey’s close proximity to the earth as the horses charge along. The Grand National is one race where you do need stamina, and Taureans are nothing if not persistent and determined. Neither of them however have stunning connections to this year’s Grand National chart.
The Moon is important in predictive astrology and in the chart the Moon is in Pisces moving towards a conjunction with Neptune in Pisces, the planet that rules the realm of the sea. This favours water- or fish-related names and Katie Walsh, who came third last year, is going again on her fishy-named horse, Seabass, a strong contender. This year, however, Venus, the planet that rules women, isn’t as strong in the chart as it was last year. Venus is weak in Aries and next to a dominant Mars in Aries, this seems to favour the men. I also spotted Across The Bay and Mr Moonshine, and the latter made me think of the Moon and Neptune together and how beautifully the moon shines on the sea.
The other planet that stands out in the chart is Jupiter, the biggest planet in the heavens, conjunct the Midheaven point of the chart. This is the success point and Jupiter is in Gemini. Immediately two runners made me sit up and take notice, Big Fella Thanks and a rank outsider Major Malarkey. Jupiter resonates with any word that’s big, huge or major. Malarkey also means ‘meaningless talk’ which fits the Gemini symbolism, the sign of communication associated with superficial chat. One other contender has to be Balthazar King, as Jupiter is the planet that represents royalty.
Gemini is the sign that rules siblings so this gives a nod to the brother and sister jockeys Ruby and Katie Walsh. I do wonder whether there’s a chance of a double winner with the Gemini symbolism, either a jockey who’s going to win for the second time or a horse, such as Ballybriggs.
One extra thought: I noticed that Sir Alex Ferguson, best known for being one of the most successful football manager’s ever with Manchester United, part-owns two runners, What A Friend and Harry The Viking. Knowing his chart as I do, Alex has a Moon/Jupiter conjunction in Gemini in the 12th house. The Moon is his ruling planet and horseracing (Jupiter rules horses) is his secret (12th house) passion. It’s lovely symbolism but what’s even more interesting is that Alex’s Jupiter is at 13 Gemini 28 and in the Grand National chart Jupiter is at 12 Gemini 48, so Alex is currently having his Jupiter return, potentially a time of great success. I will be watching avidly to see whether his horses show.
I haven’t looked at colours this year but if you want to do so, Jupiter’s colour is purple, Pisces rules the colours of the sea, blue & green, the Moon is silver or white and Mercury/Gemini are most closely linked to yellow.
My personal bets are on Across The Bay and Major Malarkey.
Other half has gone for On His Own and Joncol.
Daughter has gone for Seabass and Any Currency.
Good Luck!
[Update posted on 7th April 2013: Day after the big event & I was beside myself watching the race as one of my two horses, Across The Bay, lead for 28 out of the 30 fences but then ran out of steam. Four of the family’s six horses made it across the finishing line (17 out of 40 came home) and the winner was Aurora’s Encore, a brilliant bet at 66-1. What a poetic name and Mercury (words) in Pisces (dreams) did conjure up something special. Aurora are the northern lights and in mythology, Aurora was goddess of the dawn but I can’t say I see clear symbolism for either in the chart. A planet on the Ascendant would represent the dawn. In the end, the Moon/Neptune conjunction kept us all wondering who would be victorious & even the jockey spoke of his disbelief in winning. Thankfully all horses and jockeys were safe and sound after the race and maybe Jupiter on the Midheaven (ruling horses and a protective influence) symbolised the organisers putting the horses’ well-being first by building plastic fences for the first time.]
[photo from www.johnsmiths.co.uk]