Grand National horses from Ireland

Tiger Roll was very unfortunate not to get the opportunity to try and win the Grand National in three consecutive years, but he will surely get a chance to complete his hat-trick in the 2021 Grand National. Comparisons are inevitably going to be made with Grand National legend Red Rum who won three Grand Nationals but he achieved those three wins over a period of five years. Can Tiger Roll achieve what even Red Rum could not? Tiger Roll has confounded the critics who first said he was too small to jump Aintree fences and then said that the additional weight he had to carry last year would be his undoing. The Gordon Elliott trained gelding is an enigma in that he had the speed to win four races at around two miles (including the Triumph Hurdle) but also the required stamina to win events such as the National Hunt Chase and the Grand National. Undoubtedly, the little horse is one of the iconic stars of National Hunt racing with four wins at the Cheltenham Festival in three different races, as well as being the first horse to retain the Grand National in forty-five years. Tiger Roll disappointed in his comeback for the 20/21 season when pulling up in a cross-country race at the Cheltenham November meeting. Connections remain adamant that Tiger Roll will not be retired and as long as he runs well at Cheltenham in March then he will probably also line up at Aintree.

Acapella Bourgeois is a classy performer having won Graded events over hurdles and fences including when taking the Grade 3 BobbyJo Chase for the last two years. The BobbyJo Chase has been a useful stepping-stone to the Grand National with six winners going on to finish in the first three at Aintree over the past twenty years.  This season he has also confirmed he is in decent form when finishing runner up for the second time to the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo in the New Year's Day Chase at Tramore in January. Acapella Bourgeois has already proven his liking for a marathon test when finishing a fine seven length third in the Irish Grand National two seasons ago.  Willie Mullins’ eleven-year-old gelding is very versatile as regards ground conditions having won on good, soft, and heavy and he also does not have too many miles on the clock for a horse of his age having had just nineteen chase starts. Willie Mullins won the Grand National back in 2005 with Hedgehunter and has had another four horses finish in the first four places from forty runners over the last twenty years.

Another French import for Willie Mullins who has shown that he possesses plenty of stamina, winning three times from just seven starts over fences for the Mullins yard.  Burrows Saint's best result to date came two seasons ago when landing the Irish Grand National, beating Isleofhopendreams and Acapella Bourgeois, with the first three well clear of the rest of the finishers. Burrows Saint made a trip back to France after that win to run in the French equivalent of the Grand National, where the very testing ground didn’t seem to suit but he still managed a fifth-place finish.  On his return to action last season, he finished behind the useful Fakir D’oudairies over an inadequate trip before being switched to hurdles to land a race at Punchestown. This season began with a second placing, again over hurdles at Clonmel, and then a disappointing sixth placed finish in the Grade Two Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park. Willie Mullins’ reluctance to campaign Burrows Saint in traditional staying chases perhaps suggests the trainer feels his charge’s handicap mark has been worth protecting with Aintree in mind. There can be no question that Burrows Saint looks to have the required stamina given suitable ground, as shown in the Irish National, and his better runs have certainly come on either good or good to soft ground.  Mullins has recently stated that Aintree has been this horse's target since that win at Fairyhouse and he is a fascinating candidate in what looks an extremely competitive renewal of the Grand National.

Any Second Now hails from the Ted Walsh yard, who won the Grand National in 2000 when Ted teamed up with son Ruby to land the race with Papillon.  In last year's Grand National, Any Second Now was sent off the 15/2 second favourite and ran really well to finish third, just over eight lengths behind the winner, Minella Times. Before that race there had been a question mark as regards the gelding’s stamina for the Grand National as in his previous victory he had shown enough speed to win a Grade Two over the minimum trip of two miles. However, the son of Oscar demonstrated that marathon distances are very much within his range at Aintree, especially as he was badly hampered by a faller at the twelfth fence. The hadnicapper has raised Any Second Now by five pounds for his Aintree exploits but a return visit to Liverpool looks very much on the cards next April.  Any Second Now is currently vying for favouritism for the 2022 Grand National and looks certain to be well supported as he tries to go two places better than last year.

Proven form in an extreme stamina test has tended to be one of the characteristics of recent Grand National winners and one of the horses in this year’s field who ticks that box is Discorama.  It’s widely accepted that the 2019 version of the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival was one of the most attritional races of recent years and Discorama was still punching at the end of that race going down by just half a length to Le Breuil in a slow-motion finish. Since that agonising defeat Discorama has failed to get his head in front finishing second on three further occasions and also finishing third twice more. One of those third places though was in the red-hot version of last year’s Ultima Chase at the Cheltenham Festival where Paul Nolan’s gelding lost out to The Conditional and Kildisart. Discorama was reported as having his lost his right fore shoe during that race which makes his excellent effort even more impressive. One concern regarding Discorama’s Grand National credentials would be his most recent performance at Cheltenham in November where he finished a disappointing fifth of six runners over a 3m 3f distance that really should have suited him. A caveat to that performance is the Nolan stable was going through a very lean period of form at that time. Since then though Nolan's fortunes have bounced back with the stable recording a victory at the recent Cheltenham Festival. Another worry for the Grand National could be Discorama's winning record which currently sits at just two victories from eighteen career starts with those wins being achieved in a maiden hurdle and a small value novice chase. Discorama has been very well backed in the run up to the 2021 Grand National where he will definitely be a contender to seriously consider, probably from an each-way perspective.

Chris’s Dream has been really progressive in the previous two seasons winning twice in his novice chase year and then last season turning the prestigious Troytown Handicap Chase into a procession when taking that race by over nine lengths. The Henry De Bromhead trained gelding then went on to win a Grade Two chase over two and a half miles before running creditably in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. This season started well when Chris’s Dream went down by just a neck to The Storyteller in the Grade One Champion Chase at Down Royal but the eight-year-old’s two races since then have been disappointing. Firstly, he was well behind Min in the Grade One John Durkan at Punchestown and then was beaten very early in the Ryanair Chase after jumping badly. His jumping that day was all at sea and would obviously have to be much improved to tackle the big Aintree fences. Chris's Dream looks badly handicapped for the National being rated eighteen pounds higher than his last (impressive) win in a handicap.

Balko Des Flos was sold for £110,000 at the recent Goffs Online Sale and will continue to be aimed at Aintree for his new owners.  The former Ryanair Chase winner will remain in the care of Henry De Bromhead for his tilt at the Grand National.  Balko Des Flos had become rather a frustrating character and hasn't managed to win again since that defeat of Un De Sceaux four years ago at Cheltenham. He is currently on a thirteen race losing run and has been beaten over ten lengths in all bar one of his completed races since then. The ten-year-old gelding unseated his rider in his most recent race, the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, where he was well backed into 6/1 fourth favourite.  Perhaps the cross country fences will have rekindled his enthusiasm but the majority of his recent efforts have been poor and he will need a major upturn of form to be competitive for his new owners in the 2021 Grand National.

Reigning National Hunt Chase victor, Galvin, is reportedly being aimed at the Aintree Grand National where his predecessors from the Cheltenham Festival’s longest race have an admirable record. 2012 NH Chase winner Teaforthree finished third at Aintree the following year, as did 2018 Cheltenham winner Rathvinden. Cause of Causes went one better in 2016 after winning the NH Chase and, of course, Tiger Roll won at Cheltenham before being victorious at Aintree in 2018 and 2019. The NH Chase has been reduced in distance to 3m 6f in the last couple of years but still offers one of the best adverts for the kind of stamina that will be required for Aintree’s unique test. Galvin is in the same ownership as the aforementioned Rathvinden so it is distinctly possible we will see Galvin lining up for the 2022 Aintree Grand National. Galvin racked up an unbeaten spree of six races recently with defeat only finally coming at the hands of Frodon and Bryony Frost in the Grade One Champion Chase at Down Royal. The Gordon Elliott trained seven-year-old had reigning Gold Cup winner, Minella Indo, over four lengths back in third that day so despite getting beat that effort is probably Galvin’s best performance to date. The handicapper seems to agree as the gelding has been raised six pounds to an official rating of 165. Such a high rating may now force trainer Elliott to focus on Grade One races for the rest of the season rather than handicaps such as the Grand National. Nevertheless, the bookmakers continue to currently offer Galvin as the ante-post favourite for the Grand National. Galvin’s jumping at times still leaves a fair bit to be desired so it remains to be seen if Aintree’s unique test would suit the horse at this stage of his career.