Purple Grand National Horses

Monty’s Star always promised to be a better chaser than hurdler, despite winning at Grade Three level over the smaller obstacles, and he has run some great races over fences, including when runner-up at the Cheltenham Festival.

That said, Henry De Bromhead’s charge has won only one of his starts over fences to date, a novice chase at Punchestown over two years ago. The ten-year-old gelding finished second in two Grade One chases in his novice year but since then he has found races at the very top level beyond him including when finishing fourth, beaten nearly twenty lengths, in last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Monty’s Star has been popular in the early betting market for the 2026 Grand National, presumably because of the good showing of classier horses in the last few Nationals, but Monty’s Star doesn’t seem particularly well handicapped from a mark of 159. He finished well beaten in his only race in a handicap from that exact mark when virtually tailed off in this season’s Coral Gold Cup at Newbury. Part of this horse’s appeal is down to the feats of his trainer who seems to have perfected the skill of getting a horse to peak for the right race. Obviously the stable won the National five years ago and punters are often attracted to stables who have performed well in the race before.