If the Met Office Aintree Grand National weather forecast is anything to go by, (and since Michael Fish's infamous pronouncement of 1987 that there was "no hurricane on the way" - cue worst hurricane for 100 years that night!) and you can never be certain, then there is a serious likelihood of plenty of rain for the west of Britain in the second half of March and into early April.

As Aintree lies within the west coast metropolis of Liverpool, it would be reasonable to assume that there could be quite a bit of the 'wet stuff' around, making the Grand National course plenty testing enough for many of the 98 potential candidates still entered in the race after the second declaration stage.

The Met Office's website, commenting on the likely rainfall for the period between March 18 - April 1 states; "Rainfall is expected to be near average in the north and east, but remaining parts of the UK should see rainfall amounts of either above or locally well above average."

Should the ground ride 'soft' or even 'heavy' (which is rare indeed), horses such as mud lover Whinstone Boy, Welsh National winner Dream Aliance, Aintree regular Black Apalachi, leading candidates Trcky Trickster and Vic Venturi are likely to find themselves well capable of handling the testing underfoot conditions and consequently their ante-post odds could contract. (expect plenty of ante post horse racing tips as a result)

On the other hand, last year's winner Mon Mome would ideally prefer a better surface, a comment that on all known form could also apply to another previous winner Comply Or Die, as well as other leading contenders Backstage, Possol and State Of Play.

Those firms betting on the official going make 'good' ground the evens favourite, with 'soft' ground offered at 9/2 and 'heavy' ground at 8/1. Those Grand National Odds could change significantly if the forecast rains do arrive in the second half of March, so do keep an eye on the weather and potential going changes when considering your 2010 John Smith's Grand National bets.