Red Grand National Horses

This will be Coko Beach's fourth run in the Grand National where he has finished eighth (beaten sixty-six lengths), Pulled Up and eleventh (beaten thirty-three lengths) last year. The grey gelding has also finished second in a Becher Chase so he has plenty of experience of jumping the Grand National fences. Coko Beach's jumping of the National fences is usually superb but he tends to find the extreme distance of the race too demanding.  Still only ten-years-old, Coko Beach has been given a little help by the handicapper as his rating of 150 is back to what it was on his first attempt at the National. This year he has rated eleven pounds lower than in 2024. Coko Beach always gives his all but it's a huge ask to expect him to win the Grand National on his fourth attempt.

Conflated has been a brilliant servant to his connections winning seven of his forty-one races, including two at Grade One level. He has amassed over half-a-million pounds in prize money and has run at least four times in every year of his career.  The Gigginstown House owned gelding has been an infrequent runner in handicaps but did run in one at the recent Cheltenham Festival where he showed up well until a mistake at the second-last fence.   Conflated is now rated eleven pounds lower than at his peak, which arguably should give him a chance, but there has to be doubts about his ability to see out the Grand National distance. He did finish just over thirteen lengths third in the 26 furlong Cheltenham Gold Cup three seasons ago but he has always given the indication that three miles is about as far as he wants to go. The other negative factor is that he has fallen or unseated his rider seven times in his career. It's unlikely that any other horse has lined up in recent Grand Nationals with as many falls/unseats. The fences are undoubtedly easier at Aintree these days but his jumping must still be a major concern in a Grand National.

Vanillier ran a remarkable race in the Grand National two years having been in fifteenth position jumping four out and was still twelve lengths behind the leader when jumping the last. The grey gelding powered up the run in and passed all of his rivals bar one, the well-handicapped, Corach Rambler. That excellent run meant that Gavin Cromwell’s charge was a well fancied 14/1 shot for last  year’s National but Vamillier didn’t seem to enjoy himself as much in that race and ended up crossing the line in a well-beaten fourteenth place.  This season Cromwell has tried the ten-year-old in Cross Country races which it seemed Vanillier took a while to get used to with a sixth place at Punchestown and a ninth place at Cheltenham. His third attempt was back at Punchestown and this time the penny dropped and Vanillier was an impressive eighteen-length winner. Cromwell then sent Vanillier to Cheltenham for the Cross Country race at the Festival but unfortunately his rider Sean Flanagan nearly took the wrong course and ended up losing many lengths trying to correct his error. Eventually Vanillier finished a fast-finishing third there which was a great result in the circumstances.  The British handicapper appears to have given Vanillier a chance at the weights for the Grand National, dropping him four pounds from last year and he is now on the same mark as when second in 2023. If the Cross Country races have sweetened him up Vanillier must have a good chance of running another sound race in this year’s Grand National.

Grangeclare West has always been held in high regard by his powerful stable and has a fine win-to-run ratio of over 45%. He has, however, struggled with various injuries which have meant he has only made it to the track twelve times in four-and-a-half years. He did win a Grade One Novice Chase in 2023 where he had the likes of Corbetts Cross and Flooring Porter behind him but has generally struggled since that victory. The one bright spot in his subsequent runs was this season when he finished an excellent second to Galopin Des Champs in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown.  The nine-year-old gelding has yet to run in a handicap but given the company he has been running against he will have to carry a large amount of weight in the Grand National with only three horses above him in the handicap. 

Paul Nicholls' Hitman has a reputation for finishing placed rather than getting his head in front and his record of three chase wins from twenty-six starts backs up that viewpoint. Added to that, two of those wins came when he was odds-on in uncompetitive races.  Stamina for the Grand National is also a major concern with the furthest distance he has won being two miles five furlongs.