Green Grand National Horses

Considering what he has ultimately achieved, it seems amazing that it took Hewick twelve races under Rules before he recorded his first victory. That first success came in a handicap hurdle at Kilbeggan from a handicap mark of just 94. Hewick is currently rated 162 over fences so Shark Hanlon has improved the gelding by a massive 68lb from that first win.  The ten-year-old gelding has been an absolute star for his yard winning eleven times including a King George, a bet365 Gold Cup, a Galway Plate and an American Grand National.  Hewick has been in good form this season with placings at the Punchestown Festival, in the French Champion Hurdle and the Champion Chase at Down Royal. On his most recent run at Thurles he made the winner’s enclosure once again when an easy five length winner in a 2m 6f hurdle race. The British handicapper has given Hewick a mark of 162 for the Grand National which is eight pounds lower than his highest official rating. That mark of 162 could arguably mean that Hewick is well-handicapped as his run this year at Down Royal, when second to Envoi Allen in a Grade One chase, has been rated only two pounds lower than his best ever rating by the Racing Post.  Decent underfoot conditions are key to Hewick’s chances and as it looks like we will get a good to soft or good ground Grand National, there is every chance this superb horse could be involved in the finish.

I Am Maximus sprinted clear on the run-in in last year's Grand National, eventually coming home a comfortable seven-and-a-half-length winner and in doing so gave master trainer Willie Mullins his second Aintree Grand National victory. Connections have stated all season that defending his Grand National crown is the plan for 2025 but this time around I Am Maximus will have eight pounds more to hike around Aintree. 2025 did not start well for I Am Maximus with a poor display in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown in December. The Grand National winner continually jumped out to his left and was tailed off from a relatively early stage, although that was a Grade One race run on good to yielding ground which would not have played to his strengths. The Grand National winner put up an improved performance next time with a staying on in eighth place in the Irish Gold Cup but, again, that effort was littered with jumps where the gelding went violently out to his left. A third outing was planned for a race he won last year, the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse, but I Am Maximus was a late non-runner due to a bruised foot. He remains one of the favourites for the 2025 Grand National but his propensity to jump out to his left this season and his foot injury must be a big worry for his supporters.

Last season was extremely positive for Meetingofthewaters with two wins including a 99k handicap. The gelding was sent off second favourite for the Paddy Power Chase at the Leopardstown Christmas meeting as punters surmised that the gelding was very attractively handicapped and so it proved with Meetingofthewaters recording a smooth four and a half length victory under a confident Danny Mullins. That big win prompted JP McManus to step in to buy the horse from previous owner Paul Byrne in time for the horse to run in the green and gold colours at the Cheltenham Festival. Meetingofthewaters finished third there just under six lengths behind winner Chianti Classico. That good run at Cheltenham prompted trainer Willie Mullins to chance the young horse in the Grand National where he could be seen moving well throughout the race. Danny Mullins was in the plate and when his ride jumped the last almost in a line with the leaders it looked as if Meetingofthewaters was going to be right there at the finish. As it was he ended up finishing seventh when he seemed to run out of petrol in the last 100 yards. This season seems to have been implemented with a return trip to Aintree as the ultimate goal once again. The eight-year-old gelding has been well beaten in both his chase efforts but in between those he was sent off an extremely well-backed favourite for a 50k handicap hurdle at the DRF. Connections had spotted that the gelding was rated an incredible thirty-six pounds lower over hurdles and tried to exploit that mark but unfortunately the gamble was not landed as Meetingofthewaters trailed in well beaten. That defeat over hurdles has to leave a question mark as to if the gelding is in anywhere near the same form of last season.  The UK handicapper has given Meetingofthewaters a mark one pound higher than last season’s effort at Aintree but with the gelding's form very much in question, it would require a big leap of faith to support Meetingofthewaters this year.

Intense Raffles won three of his nine races in France but seemed to take a huge step forward when transferred into the care of Tom Gibney in County Meath, Ireland. Gibney was in charge of the gelding's novice chase career and this son of Martaline took to that discipline like a duck to water winning his first two novice chases. The trainer then selected a very bold route of sending this inexperienced horse into white-hot company in the Irish Grand National. Despite this being Intense Raffles' first run in a handicap and the first time he had raced in a big field, he acquitted himself admirably becoming only the third six-year-old to win Ireland's top handicap chase. Owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede nominated the Aintree Grand National as the horse's target for 2025 and it is noticeable that the gelding had been kept to hurdles this season prior to the publication of the Grand National weights. The handicapper eventually settled on a mark of 151 for Intense Raffles but given his improving profile and lack of experience it's highly likely he can be competitive at Aintree of this revised mark. Traditionally, seven-year-olds have had a poor record in the Grand National but Noble Yeats broke the bad run of horses that age when winning in 2022 and with the changing nature of the race, being less experienced has become less of an issue.  Intense Raffles has already indicated that he is ahead of the handicapper by finishing second in the renowned Grand National trial, the Grade Three Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse. The Irish handicapper has set his new mark at 156 so he will be five pounds ahead of his handicap mark at Aintree.  Intense Raffles must have an outstanding chance of achieving an Irish and English National double.

Iroko is another of the JP McManus battalion that is well-fancied for the 2025 Grand National. A winner at the Cheltenham Festival two seasons ago over hurdles, Iroko has improved even further over fences despite only winning one of his races over the bigger obstacles so far. The Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero trained gelding ran his best race over fences when finishing second to Inothewayurthinkin in the Grade One Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree last season. That rival has gone on to massively frank the form by winnng the Cheltenham Gold Cup this season. Things haven’t really gone to plan for Iroko this season, which began with a half-length defeat by Trelawne in a Graduation Chase at Haydock, and then a first fence fall at Ascot in December. His third run this season came in a Premier Handicap at Cheltenham in January when finishing five lengths fourth to winner Moon D’Orange. That run was investigated by the stewards that day who wanted an explanation into the gelding’s running and riding. Jockey Jonjo O’Neill Jr explained to the stewards that he was under instructions to try and get Iroko jumping soundly after his fall in his last race. The jockey lost his iron during the race and got into a difficult position as a result. The stewards accepted the explanation but the upshot of the race was that Iroko did not receive a hike in the handicap before the Grand National weights were announced. The Grand National is much less of a jumping test these days but the amount of errors in Iroko’s recent races must still be a considerable concern for his chances.

Gavin Cromwell will be hoping that the great record in the Grand National of horses who have run in Cross Country races will continue in 2025 as Stumptown and Vanillier are among the best around currently in that field. Stumptown doesn’t fit the profile of most cross-country horses as he is only eight-years-old and most runners in that field tend to be ten and over. He’s won four out of five of his attempts over the banks, including the recent Glenfarclas Cross Country at the Cheltenham Festival.  Stumptown has also won two good traditional handicap chases at Cheltenham in 2024 so he certainly has a progressive profile. The worry for Stumptown’s supporters is that the British handicapper has pushed him up to a rating of 157 for the Grand National which is ten pounds higher than his last win in a traditional handicap.  Another possible concern could be that the last three times Stumptown has contested the very top level traditional handicaps (Irish National, Coral Gold Cup and the Ultima Chase) he has pulled up every time. 

Earlier this season it looked as if Perceval Legallois was becoming disappointing after going off as favourite in two big Irish handicaps only to return home well beaten. Those defeats in the Galway Plate and the Listowel National meant he was allowed to go off at 17/2 for the big Irish Christmas handicap chase; the Paddy Power at Leopardstown. This time though the real Perceval Legallois turned up and he came home an easy seven-length winner of a handicap worth nearly €100,000.  Trainer Gavin Cromwell then spotted an opportunity for Perceval Legallois to exploit his handicap mark over hurdles which was now eighteen pounds lower than his chase mark after that big win at Leopardstown. Cromwell aimed his charge back at the Dublin track again but this time at a €59,000 listed handicap hurdle. The punting public probably saw this as a run-out to protect his chase handicap from the attentions of the British Grand National handicapper but Cromwell had the eight-year-old fully tuned and he handled the return to hurdles brilliantly coming home a comfortable winner again.  Cromwell has now turned his attention to the Grand National for this horse where he will race from an eleven pounds higher mark than his last chase win at Christmas. This son of Ballingarry has never raced further than three miles so the step up to four miles plus would have to be taken on trust but horses who win at three miles over hurdles usually tend to stay further over fences.  It's a big ask to win such a prestegious race as the Grand National from eleven pounds higher than your last victory but Gavin Cromwell has been making the unlikley happen all season.