Grand National horses from Ireland

I Am Maximus is already an Aintree legend following his victory in the Grand National two years ago and then following that up with second place behind Nick Rockett last year. 

A return to Aintree will undoubtedly be on the cards once again but the ten-year-old son of Authorised has been quite busy this season with three runs in Grade One races in Ireland. The highlight of those runs was finishing runner-up to Affordale Fury in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas. That run suggested that all his ability is still there and he looks sure to be a force to be reckoned with once again in the Grand National. 

I Am Maximus still holds an entry in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but that race has not been on his agenda in previous years and it would be a surprise if he was given the green light for that race. Much more likely is that he will turn-up at Aintree a fresh horse, although the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse that he won two years ago, may appeal to connections if they feel they want to get another run into him.

Favori De Champdou’s career looked like it had plateaued after he won three novice hurdles and went off only 7/1 for the Albert Bartlett hurdle at Cheltenham as he failed to live up to big expectations of him in his novice chase year. 

He did manage to win three races but fell short when pushed up into the top races. A season in handicaps followed and again he failed to cut much ice in the top races and managed to win just one small race that season. 

He appeared to be following that decline again at the start of this season after being well beaten in two top handicaps in November and connections must have thought their move into cross country races with something of a last resort.

Gordon Elliott sent him over for the December Cross Country handicap at Cheltenham where he fell at the water jump, suggesting that he might not find cross country a solution to his run of bad form. However, something must have clicked as on his next start over regulation fences he was revitalised and took one of the biggest handicaps in Ireland (the Paddy Power over Christmas) at the understandaby large odds of 66/1. 

Next up was a return to Cheltenham and the cross country circuit and this time Favori De Champdou made no mistake running out a convincing eight-and-a-half length victor and was thereafter installed as favourite for the cross country chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

All looked set for a big race at Cheltenham but the horse was very unsettled and gave Jack Kennedy a very difficult time in the paddock and on the way down to the start. He still ran a good race but was no match for Gavin Cromwell’s Final Orders who was victorious by two-and-a-half lengths. 

Favori De Champdou has been set a mark for the Grand National seventeen pounds above his winning rating at Leopardstown but more of a worry could be if his behaviour before the race at Cheltenham were to happen again at Aintree. Obviously the intensity of the crowd etc is on a par with Cheltenham and if the eleven-year-old gelding were to act up before the National that would put a serious question mark against his chances in the big race.

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. 

Nick Rockett came out on top in last year’s Grand National, leading home a 1-2-3 for master trainer Willie Mullins.

To make the race even sweeter for Mullins, the winner was ridden by his son, Patrick, as they became only the third father and son combination to win the Grand National.

Mullins reported earlier in the season that the nine-year-old gelding has encountered some issues that looked like it might stop him from returning to Aintree but the situation has improved and Nick Rockett finally made his seasonal reappearance at Down Royal on the 17th of March. The nine-year-old's jumping looked a little rusty at Down Royal and he was eventually beaten seven lengths into third by a possible Grand National adversary in Gerri Colombe. 

Despite winning the Grand National Nick Rockett had to run in the Down Royal race to qualify to run at Aintree as a rule change insists that all Grand National runners must have raced at least once that season. Some bookmakers were not too impressed with Nick Rockett's return to the track and generally increased his price in the ante-post market. 

With a gap of just over three weeks to Aintree from his reappearance, Nick Rockett appears to face an uphill struggle to retain his Grand National crown.

Grangeclare West ran a brilliant race last year in the Grand National, finishing third beaten three lengths. Connections can wonder what might have been as the son of Presenting was challenging at the last when a bad mistake halted his momentum. Jockey Brian Hayes quickly got his mount balanced again and then the gelding ran on powerfully, finding just stablemates Nick Rockett and I Am Maximus too good on the day.

Grangeclare West will be four pounds better off with Nick Rockett in 2026 so must have a great chance of reversing the form with that horse but he does have to overcome the bad recent record of beaten horses in the National returning to try again the following year. The last horse to win the National after being unsuccessful the previous year was Mon Mome in 2009. Added to that he is ten-years-old and horses aged in double figures have not won the National since 2014.

The bookmakers don’t seem to believe in such trends as they have installed Grangeclare West as the ante-post favourite following his easy win in the renowned Grand National trial, the Bobbyjo at Fairyhouse. It may be prudent to not overrate the form of the Bobbyjo as Grangeclare West was well favoured by the race conditions which saw him racing on level weights with horses much lower rated than him. He did win the race convincingly under a cool Paul Townend ride, on ground that wouldn’t have been ideal, but he could just be vulnerable at Aintree to a younger, less exposed type.

After a season that gleaned two big wins, Perceval Legallios was sent off joint-third favourite for last year’s Grand National but was one of only four horses to fall or unseat in last year’s race.

The Gavin Cromwell trained gelding came down early in the race at the ninth fence and didn’t get to show the form that had seen him win the 97k Paddy Power Handicap Chase at Leopardstown in the previous December.

Only seen twice on the racecourse so far this season, the gelding would have something to prove with regard to his current well being as those two runs have only gleaned a pulled up in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in November and a thirty-one length fourth place at Tramore in January.

Perceval Legallios ran from a mark of 153 last year and is only two pounds lower this year despite coming into the race with far less obvious recent credentials. 

Gavin Cromwell was very sweet on his horse’s chance at Aintree before the race last season so if he was to come in for any sustained interest in the betting market it could suggest Perceval Legallois is in good form and might be a player in this year’s Grand National.

Three Card Brag has generally been in great form this season with the highlights being an excellent win in an ultra-competitive 52k handicap at Cheltenham in October as well as finishing runner-up in the Kerry National and Coral Gold Cup.

The outlier in his performances this season was his effort last time out in the Bobbyjo at Fairyhouse where he was sent off the 3/1 favourite but finished a disappointing seventh, fifty-nine lengths behind winner Grangeclare West. Perhaps the heavy ground that day was not to his liking but it is a worry going into a big race like the Grand National off the back of a poor last-time effort.

The nine-year-old gelding ran in the Grand National last year and showed up really well for a long way, attacking the fences with apparent relish, but eventually weakening from three out to finish forty-five lengths behind Nick Rockett. At first glance it appeared that perhaps Three Card Brag did not stay the four-miles plus and trainer Gordon Elliott may feel the same as it is interesting that the horse has also been given an entry in the 2m 5f Topham Chase over the National fences.

Doubts about stamina and how he has come out of his last disappointing run might be enough to temper enthusiasm for most punters looking for a Grand National bet.

Yeah Man just missed out on running in the Grand National last year and it could be the same scenario this time around as he will need nine horses to be withdrawn at the five-day declaration stage to make it into the race.

If he does make the race he will need to overturn a thirteen race losing run that stretches back over two years. 

The Gavin Cromwell trained gelding has only got his head in front twice in twenty-five starts and it’s difficult to imagine him being involved in the finish of the Grand National.

Captain Cody was a useful bumper and hurdle horse (he won a Grade Two novice hurdle) but his biggest win has come over fences when he won the Scottish National last April. Surprisingly though that is the gelding’s only win over fences to date but there is evidence to suggest that he still might be well handicapped enough to have a live chance in an Aintree Grand National.

Winners of the Scottish National do not have a good recent record when attempting Aintree the following season but this Willie Mullins trained chaser has been giving indications that he still has some scope left in his handicap mark. Over Xmas he was well fancied for the valuable Paddy Power handicap at Leopardstown and his jockey that day, Paul Townend, was extremely frustrated with the start of that race as he felt it handicapped his chances of winning (he eventually finished 7^th, beaten less than ten lengths. Captain Cody was then extremely well backed into 7/2 favourite for the Thyestes Chase, another valuable handicap, but only got as far as the fifth fence before falling. Such stable and market confidence for these races suggests that another big win is not that far off for this eight-year-old and whilst his jumping is a cause for concern the fences at Aintree are not the stern test that they used to be.

Captain Cody seems to fall into the category of lightly raced progressive chasers that Willie Mullins has excelled with in the last couple of seasons and this gelding could well be the one to give the master trainer another big win in the Grand National in 2026.

Lecky Watson ended last season with three wins, the undoubted highlight of which was his somewhat unexpected victory in the Brown Advisory Novice Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. 

Willie Mullins had a number of seemingly better fancied horses in the field that day such as Ballyburn and Dancing City but it was 20/1 shot Lecky Watson who was the comfortable winner in the end. 

Victory in one of the top staying novice chases such as the Brown Advisory usually leads to the horse in question trying to step up into Gold Cup company the following season but Lecky Watson has had something of a disappointing season this year.The eight-year-old gelding has raced four times but is yet to finish any better than seventh, although he has been set some tough challenges. 

Based on what he has achieved since that win at Cheltenham, a mark for the Grand National of 158 might look a big ask for this son of Valirann but Mullins is such a specialist at getting these classy horses spot-on for a tilt at the Aintree Grand National that Lecky Watson definitely shouldn’t be discounted.

Quai De Bourbon announced himself on the big stage when finishing third in the Martin Pipe at the Cheltenham Festival a couple of seasons ago as that’s often a race Willie Mullins uses for his potential top-class chasers. 

Unfortunately Quai De Bourbon’s novice chase chase year didn’t go entirely to plan as he was underwhelming when winning at odds-on on his belted chasing debut and then unseated his rider when quietly fancied for the Brown Advisory at the Cheltenham Festival. He was then brought down at Aintree and then finished a decent third when well-backed in the Irish National.

This season doesn’t appear to have gone to plan either with the son of Ivanhowe pulling up in two big handicaps before a decent run when third in a race over a distance likely to be short of his best.

Willie Mullins has said in various stable tours that Quai De Bourbon is still a horse he rates very highly and he feels he will benefit from running on spring ground. 

As the seven-year-old is still relatively unexposed a race like the Grand National at Aintree could be exactly what he needs and he appeals as a good value bet at the current prices.

Now Is The Hour was becoming something of an enigma having failed to win in his first eight races over fences but he seemed to turn a corner around Christmas time when he put in a big performance in the Paddy Power Handicap Chase, finishing a close-up fourth behind Favori De Champdou.

Trainer Gavin Cromwell next aimed the gelding at the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park where he put in a power-packed finish to just prevail in a tight finish with Better Times Ahead. Despite this being an ultra-competitive handicap, the front two finished nineteen lengths ahead of the third placed horse. 

Now Is The Hour’s shrewd trainer then decided it was time to up the gelding in class and sent him over for the Grade One Brown Advisory Novice Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. This appeared a very ambitious project but the trainer obviously knew best as despite being sent off at odds of 80/1, Now Is The Hour ran an excellent race to finish fifth, beaten just under six lengths behind Kitzbugel and Final Demand.

The Brown Advisory wasn’t Now Is The Hour’s first tilt at the Cheltenham Festival as he had looked an unlucky loser when falling at the second last in the 3m 6f National Hunt Chase. The fact that he was staying on so strongly that day would suggest a thorough test of stamina should not be an issue. 

A tilt at either the Irish or Aintree Grand National now looks on the card for the nine-year-old who must have a great chance wherever he lines up next.

Spillane’s Tower will be looking to bring up a long-range Grand National double for trainer Jimmy Mangan who won the race twenty-three years ago with Monty’s Pass.

Trainer Mangan has shown he can still train a good horse, steering this son of Walk In The Park to six victories, including two big wins at Grade One level. The biggest of those wins was probably the Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown two seasons ago where Spillane’s Tower just won out in a tight finish from Monty’s Star. 

The eight-year-old gelding had looked to go off the rails slightly over the last year with two defeats over hurdles but bounced back to form when taking the Cotswold Chase at the January Cheltenham meeting. That victory sent him on a path to the Cheltenham Gold Cup but he was an eleventh hour non-runner due to the firmness of the ground.

It would seem that Spillane’s Tower is being lined up to be a member of the JP McManus battalion in the Aintree Grand National as he has not been entered in the Irish equivalent at Fairyhouse.

Punters will need to keep an eye on the weather if Spillane’s Tower tower is their selection as he would probably need ground nearer soft to actually run in the race.

French import Jordans has been something of a “talking horse” since transferring to Joseph O’Brien but the facts are that he has only won one race for O'Brien in ten attempts.

The seven-year-old gelding did run a fine race last season when runner-up to Caldwell Potter in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree but his four runs this season have been disappointing. He started this season with a couple of races over hurdles but then pulled up when seemingly well-fancied when returned to fences for the Thyestes at Gowran Park in January. He was again well backed when running over 2m 5f at Leopardstown in March but could only manage a well beaten eleventh place finish.

It could be he is the type of horse who finds his best form when we approach the end of the season and the sun is shining and if he could recreate the form of his race with Caldwell Potter he would have a chance from only a one pound higher mark.

Oscars Brother is officially still a novice but has racked up plenty of experience in his first season over fences, winning three times.

Trained by Connor King who only has two horses in training, the gelding began his chasing career way back on the 8th May last year finishing second to Mossy Fen Park at Listowel. The son of Malinas was then sent to Galway in October where he broke his chasing duck and was then moved up to Grade Two level at Punchestown where he underlined how rapidly he was improving with a comfortable three length success. That victory caught the eye of JP McManus who moved swiftly to purchase the gelding.

Connor King gave Oscars Brother a break after Punchestown bringing him back in early February for another tilt at a Grade Two race at Navan. The eight-year-old never saw another horse that day, leading from flag-fall for a comprehensive six length win. That win at Navan booked his place for the Brown Advisory at the Cheltenham Festival where ran a great race to finish fourth to Kitzbuhel.

Despite being on the go for most of the season, connections are keen to run Oscars Brother again and a trip to Fairyhouse of Aintree looks on the cards where he is likely to be extremely well-supported.

Firefox has been campaigned predominantly over distances short of three miles for the majority of his career with trainer Gordon Elliott only stepping him up in distance in his last two races. His first attempt at three miles was in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Leopardstown where he finished a very credible fourteen lengths fourth behind Fact To File, Gaelic Warrior and Galopin Des Champs. That effort encouraged Elliott to run the eight-year-old in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but this time he was more comprehensively defeated into twenty-six length sixth place where he appeared not to stay the 3m 2f distance. Obviously that is such a high-class race that he may simply have been outclassed but he didn’t scream out that he wanted to go four miles plus in the Grand National.

Supporters for the Grand National will point to the fact that his sire, Walk In The Park, has sired an Aintree Grand National winner amongst many other hardy stayers but it the fact that Elliott has also entered the gelding in the Topham Chase at Aintree over 2m 5f it could be he intends to drop the horse back down in trip.

High Class Hero lived up to his name in the early part of his career winning his first five races under Rules. In fact, the nine-year-old gelding only finished out of the first three once in his first twelve races including when favourite for Bet365 Gold Cup last season.

The son of Sulamani’s consistency has come to an abrupt end this season when he has pulled up in both of his two racecourse appearances. Both of those races have come on very soft or heavy ground so it may just be that High Class Hero requires a sound surface now to show his best form. 

The British handicapper obviously still believes that the gelding has the capability to run well in the Grand National as he has set his rating at 153 which is higher than the rating the horse has in Ireland. A reproduction of his third placing at Sandown where he had the likes of Grangeclare West well behind him, could see him involved in the finish of the Grand National. He also appears to fit the profile Willie Mullins is using for his recent assaults on Aintree in that High Class Hero is a highly-rated type with not many miles on the clock. 

Most punters will be put off by a horse who has pulled up on both his last starts but anyone prepared looking past those runs could come down on a good value Aintree bet.

Henry De Bromhead’s horses are always a popular selection in big races but particularly in the Grand National which he has won with Minella Times and has also had two other placed horses.

Gorgeous Tom has some good form to his name, most notably finishing fourth to Lecky Watson in last season’s Brown Advisory Chase and filling that same position in this season’s Coral Gold Cup behind Panic Attack.

The eight-year-old gelding isn’t an obvious candidate for extreme distances with the furthest he has travelled so far being 3 miles and 2 furlongs. 

Stellar Story announced himself as a stayer of note when springing a 33/1 surprise when taking the Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival a couple of seasons ago.

After that Cheltenham success big things were expected of this gelding over fences and he did win on fencing debut but has been rather disappointing since then. Stellar Story has run seven further races over fences but has yet to record another victory. He has been very highly tried in that time and the highlight was probably his runner-up spot in last season’s Brown Advisory Chase at Cheltenham where he finished four lengths runner-up to Lecky Watson.

This season the nine-year-old gelding has run three times and has been well beaten on all of those occasions. He did run an ok race last time out when unfavoured by the race conditions in the Bobbyjo at Fairyhouse. Given the peculiarities of the weight structure in that race, he had to give eight pounds to the likes of Grangeclare West, who is rated more than ten pounds higher than him. He would actually be twenty-one pounds better off with Granceclare West if they meet in the Grand National and would need to turn around a fourteen-and-a-half length defeat from Fairyhouse.

Stellar Story has yet to race in a handicap so it’s difficult to surmise how he will get on in that scenario but given his record suggests an extreme stamina test is likely to suit and that he has good form on all manor of ground conditions, he could be a very interesting candidate for top honours at Aintree.

Gerri Colombe was one of the top chasers in training a couple of seasons ago, having finished second at two Cheltenham Festivals, including in the Gold Cup, and had won five Grade One Chases before a stifle injury put a halt to his career. The injury was not initially considered serious but it did mean he was off for over a year.

The Gordon Elliott trained chaser reappeared at the end of December this season in the Savills Chase but appeared to badly need the run and was pulled up before the ninth fence. After that run at Leopardstown Elliott gave him a run over hurdles in the Galmoy at Gowran Park and he ran much better finishing third. 

The ten-year-old gelding then ran a very encouraging race when back over fences in the renowned Grand National trial, the Bobbyjo, at Fairyhouse. Gerri Colombe finished second that day, beaten five lengths by one of the Grand National favourites, Grangeclare West, where he jumped well and stayed on strongly on the run-in.

Gerri Colombe got back in the winners' enclosure on his last run so far this season when winning a conditions race at Down Royal where he had Grand National winner Nick Rockett back in third. The worry for connections must be that Gerri Colombe was inclined to consistently jump out to his left but he may not have enjoyed how quick the ground was.

Whilst these races may not suggest Gerri Colombe is back to his brilliant best, it does show he seems to be over his injury as he has withstood four races in two months and he had some very good horses behind him at Fairyhouse.

This son of Saddler Maker has never run over further than 3m 2f but he strongly suggests a test of stamina would suit him in something like the Grand National but he does appear to favour running on soft ground. He has won on quicker ground but the suspicion is that he would probably need a slower surface to have a good chance at Aintree. 

The British handicapper has set Gerri Colombe a mark of 166 and his rating for other races has been dropped to 160, meaning that he has to run from six pounds higher than his current rating at Aintree.

Connections stated after Down Royal that Aintree will be next up for Gerri Colombe but the Bowl would be considered along with the National.

Final Orders has been a wonderful servant to his connections winning on the flat, over hurdles, over conventional fences and now becoming a top cross-country horse. 

The crowning glory in his career came on his latest run when jumping superbly to win the Glenfarclas Cross Country at the Cheltenham Festival and taking his career winnings to well over 200k. Next up will be the Aintree Grand National and given that the Cheltenham Cross Country has previously provided some many horses to go on and run well at Aintree, Final Orders is likely to be well supported. His supporters will be aware that the ten-year-old gelding needs genuinely good ground to be at his best so his chances seem to depend on a dry run-up to the race. The other potential issue is that he is quite a small horse and whilst the Grand National fences are not the test they used to be, they can still provide a stern test. This is underlined in that Final Orders has run twenty-eight times over fences and has only fallen once and that was in the Topham Chase over the Grand National fences. The ground was soft that day so that may have been a contributory factor but it is a concern to be aware of if you are considering backing this horse for the Grand National.

One of the stars of the Joseph O'Brien yard, Banbridge has won three Grade One races, including the King George at Kempton, a race he very nearly won for the second time this year when just losing out by a nose to The Jukebox Man. 

It's something of a surprise to see Banbridge entered for the Grand National as his two attempts at distances further than three miles have resulted in two comprehensive defeats where it very much looked as if he didn't stay.

Given his stamina doubts he looks an unlikely winner of the Grand National.

Answer To Kayf comes from a successful family with five of his siblings recording a win, including half-sister You Wear It Well who won the Mares’ Novice Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival three years ago.

Coming from a such a prolific family, many people were alerted to Answer To Kayf as a potential top-class performer from the beginning of his career and he managed to win twice over hurdles but his best effort was in defeat when finishing fourth in one of the top races for future chasing prospects; the Martin Pipe Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

The Terence O’Brien trained gelding struggled to find his preferred soft ground through his novice chase season, winning once on the only occasion he encountered ground with no good in it. That though left him attractively handicapped for this season and so it proved when winning the Grade Three 59k Troytown Chase after a break of over six months. Conditions were heavy that day and Answer To Kayf relished the difficult conditions, staying on for a comfortable looking two-and-a-quarter length success. Understandably the handicapper took a dim view of this big win and raised this son of Kayf Tara nine pounds. The rating increase proved beyond him when fourth to Now IsThe Hour in the Thyestes at Gowran Park and it could be that his handicap peak has been achieved.

Since Gowran Park he has run respectably when fourth in the Bobbyjo when the conditions of the weights were not in his favour and he looks to have been freshened up for a crack at one of the Nationals. Soft ground appears to be a definite prerequisite for this horse and with those underfoot conditions more likely to be found in Fairyhouse than Aintree he could be a lively proposition for the Irish National if the ground stays wet.

Champ Kiely was a useful horse over hurdles, winning three times and finishing third at the Cheltenham Festival but he is now even more highly rated over fences. 

Willie Mullins kept the gelding to trips shorter than three miles in the early part of his novice year and Champ Kiely was good enough to win twice but on his final start of the season Mullins moved him up to three miles at the Punchestown Festival. This proved a masterstroke as the gelding took advantage of some indifferent jumping from more fancied stablemates (such as Ballyburn and Lecky Watson) to win by over six lengths at the relatively unexpected odds of 22/1.

This season hasn’t really gone to plan for Champ Kiely and began with a short-head defeat over just two miles at Naas in November. The ten-year-old gelding then stepped up in class to contest the Grade One Savills Chase at Leopardstown but slipped up on the flat after the fourth fence. A move back in grade at Tramore followed this but he could manage only a disappointing well-beaten fifth when 2/1 favourite. 

Mullins set the gelding another tough task next when running him in the Irish Gold Cup where he was sent off 66/1 and finished seventh, beaten twenty-eight lengths.

Many punters will focus on Willie Mullins’ runners now after he has dominated the last two Nationals and this horse fits a lot of the Mullins set-up for Aintree as he has been sending lightly raced but classy horses. Champ Kiely fits the bill in experience having just had nine races over fences but he is older than most second season chasers at ten-years-old and we have to go back to Pineau De Re in 2014 to find the last Grand National winner aged in double figures.

If you can overlook his age, he will appeal to many as he is a former Grade One winner and seemingly goes well on all ground conditions.

French Dynamite is one of the more experienced horses in this year’s Grand National having already had thirty-seven races under Rules. 

The eleven-year-old gelding began his career trained by Mouse Morris and under Rocour ownership but was sold in September last year and moved to the stable of the very shrewd operator, Eric McNamara. His new trainer has only run the gelding three times so far but appears to have rekindled French Dynamite’s enthusiasm as seen when winning the 50k Munster National in October. 

French Dynamite did win seven times for his old connections but nothing as valuable as his big handicap win for McNamara and had appeared to have become rather jaded with racing ending up in Cross Country races. During that final period with Morris, the gelding ran over the Grand National fences in the Topham Chase but was never really competitive and finished tailed-off.

Having already won a big race this season he could appeal as a lively outsider but stamina for the Grand National has to be taken on trust as despite all his experience he has never tried extreme distances outside of cross country races.

One of the more intriguing improvers in this year’s field, an 8-year-old from the yard of Mags Mullins who arrives at Aintree with a profile that screams untapped staying potential.

Still relatively lightly raced over fences with one win from seven attempts, he represents the type of progressive handicap chaser that often outruns expectations in the Grand National.

He won a valuable Handicap Chase at Cheltenham this season over 3 miles 2 furlongs and his 7th of 22 in this season's Ultima Chase back there at the Festival was a fair effort in a race that is often used as a Grand National trial.

Has plenty of experience in big field races, won over 3 miles+ and contested top level Handicaps so ticks the right boxes for this sort of test.

Pied Piper's form over fences this season has been mixed with a string a fair efforts in decent contests through the autumn up to Christmas but has fallen on his last two starts.

He finished runner up in a Novice Chase over 3m1f at Cheltenham in October before a fair 5th of 19 in the Troytown Handicap (3miles) at Navan, a race quite often regarded as a Grand National pointer. He signed off 2025 with another fair effort finishing 9th of 28 in the Paddy Power Chase (3 miles) at Leopardstown.

He did win three times in Novice company in early 2025 so is capable but will need to rebuild confidence after those recent falls. Ground wise he is versatile having won on good to soft and heavy.

A fascinating outsider in this year’s renewal is Amirite, the 10-year-old gelding trained by Henry de Bromhead, a handler who knows exactly what it takes to ready one for the unique demands of Aintree. 

Amirite comes into the race with a mixed but intriguing profile. He has 2 wins from 17 chase starts, the latest victory coming in the 50k Mullingar Midlands National at Kilbeggan in July 2025 (he was runner up in this in 2024). A very good 4th of 22 followed in the valuable Galway Plate Handicap Chase.

Not every runner takes to Aintree, but Amirite already has strong course form having finished 4th of 30 in the Topham Chase over the National fences last year which is a major tick for his prospects.

With winning form around 3 miles+ he shapes like a horse who could improve again for the 4m2½f marathon trip and a very interesting each way proposition if the race turns into a test of stamina and jumping.