Grand National horses from Ireland

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.

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.

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.

Roi Mage is currently a reserve for the Grand National and will need two horses to withdraw when the final declarations are made on Thursday to make the race. This Patrick Griffin trained gelding has run in the Grand National twice before, finishing seventh two years ago and ninth last year. He only ran last Saturday, with connections probably thinking he was unlikely to make the Grand National final field.  He finished a well-beaten sixth at Fontainebleau that day and, if he does make the Grand National, it's difficult to see this thirteen-year-old improving on what he has previously achieved at Aintree.

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.

Former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Minella Indo stormed back to top-form in the Grand National last year when finishing eight lengths third to I Am Maximus. Trainer Henry De Bromhead was reluctant to prep his stable star in Cross Country races this year and instead has used a softly-softly approach with the twelve-year-old gelding only running twice so far this season. Minella Indo reappeared this season at Punchestown in October where he ran a very encouraging race finishing second to French Dynamite and having one of the favourites for this year's Grand National, Hewick, over four lengths behind. It wasn't until nearly four months later that Minella Indo ran again having what looked like an exercise outing when finishing a well-beaten sixth in a hurdle race at Navan.  Henry De Bromhead brought Minella Indo to last year's Grand National off a four month break due to his intended target (the Cheltenham Festival Cross Country race) being abandoned and he obviously feels Minella Indo's best chance this year is to go into the big race fresh once again.  The handicapper has given Minella Indo one pound less to carry this year but that may not be enough as no twelve-year-old has won the Grand National since Amberleigh House in 2004.

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.

Minella Cocooner was part of the team Willie Mullins highlighted to help him win the British Trainers’ Championship and this horse certainly did his bit when victorious in the Bet365 Gold Cup and winning over £95,000 in the process.  That win at Sandown was only Minella Cocooner’s second win over fences and with only a six pound rise for that big win he looks to have the scope to win some more big pots. As well as winning at Sandown on good ground he had previously been third in the Irish National when four lengths behind Intense Raffles on heavy ground.  This season Mullins has campaigned this horse mainly at Grade One level and he has been comprehensively beaten on his three starts by 25, 41 and 32 lengths. Minella Cocooner's one race outside Grade One level was in the Bobbyjo at Fairyhouse where he showed some improved form to finish fourth just over eight lengths behind the winner, Nick Rockett. Minella Cocooner’s supporters should not lose heart though as it appears the nine-year-old gelding tends to find his best form toward the end of the season. His four best performances on Racing Post ratings have all come from March onwards in the season so there is every chance he can show an improved performance in the Grand National. It's somewhat surprising that Danny Mullins has elected to not ride this horse as he has been in the plate eight times in the horse's career including that big win at Sandown.

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.

Nick Rockett heads to Aintree on the back of two fine wins: the 50k Thyestes Chase and then the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse, which has often been the stepping stone to Grand National victories. A Grade Two winner over hurdles, much was expected of his first year over fences but this son of Walk In The Park only managed to get his head in front once last season. Willie Mullins’ charge did record some good performances in top handicaps, most notably when third behind stablemate Minella Cocooner in the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown. Nick Rockett appeared to need the run when a promising fourth at 25/1 in the valuable Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas but his form has stepped up considerably since then. In the Bobbyjo he was receiving three pounds from Irish Grand National winner Intense Raffles but the conditions of the Fairyhouse greatly favoured him and that same horse will be a huge fifteen pounds better off if they both line-up at Aintree.  If Nick Rockett does line-up in the Grand National he will face a tough task as he will only have two horses above him the weights at most and would run from a mark eleven pounds higher than his last handicap run, the victory in the Thyestes.

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. 

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. 

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 seems to now have turned his attention to the Grand National for this horse where he would have to 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.  Another issue to be considered by anyone thinking of backing this horse for AIntree is the wealth of riches JP McManus has in the staying chaser department. With so many stayers at his disposal, McManus looks sure to divert some of his battalion to the Irish National at Fairyhouse, which is two weeks after Aintree this year. If Perceval Legallois does head to Aintree the question mark would probably be if his win in the Paddy Power has scuppered his chance of winning a Grand National.

Three Card Brag could be the main hope of the Gordon Elliott stable that has won the Grand National on three previous occasions. However, the eight-year-old gelding will need a number of withdrawals to make the final field but if he does make it into the race he could be a dark horse to be on the right side of. Three Card Brag finished fourth in the Albert Bartlett Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival two seasons ago and that run outlined him as a possible improver when tried over fences.  Three Card Brag started favourite for his first two outings over fences but bumped into the likes of Corbetts Cross and Monty’s Star finishing second on both occasions. It actually took the son of Jet Away till his sixth run over fences to record his first victory which means he remains relatively inexperienced but he could potentially still be well handicapped off a mark of 146. If Three Card Brag does make the Grand National he is sure to be well-supported given the great record in the race of his trainer. 

Appreciate It has won three races over fences, two at two miles and one at two miles five furlongs.  Willie Mullins' former Grade One winner over hurdles bounced back to form in January with his first win for two years but his ability to see out the marathon distance of the Grand National is unproven. The eleven-year-old gelding is yet to be tried at distances further than three miles and one furlong and Appreciate It's career up to now has primarily focused at distances shorter than three miles. One possible positive for punters who like his chances is that he was sired by Jeremy who was also the sire of Corach Rambler who won the Grand National two years ago.

Henry De Bromhead has a good recent record in the Grand National with the one-two in 2021 and another placed horse last year. Senior Chief looks to have been campaigned with this race in mind since winning a handicap chase at Cheltenham in October that also had Vanillier and Broadway Boy in the field. The key that day seemed to be the good ground he was encountering for the first time in his career and the introductions of first-time cheekpieces.  This son of Gentlewave failed to back-up that win at Cheltenham when subsequently finishing a staying-on sixth to Kandoo Kid in the Coral Cold Cup at Newbury. Since that defeat, trainer De Bromhead has restricted the eight-year-old gelding to one quiet run over hurdles at Naas in February. With the ground likely to be no worse than good-to-soft, Senior Chief should have conditions to his liking but he does need to prove himself at extreme distances. He gave the impression at Newbury that he could well be suited by a marathon but he is nine pounds higher in the handicap than his last win at Cheltenham which could make being competitive in a white-hot race such as the Grand National very difficult.

Fil Dor has won two of his fourteen tries over fences but has been set quite a few difficult tasks but it's a concern that both his chase wins came in uncompetitive races when he was odds-on. The main concern over Fil Dor's Grand National hopes would be a worry regarding his stamina. He's only had one race over three miles in his career where he seemed to run out of petrol at Fairyhouse in February. Obviously three-time Grand National winning trainer Gordon Elliott's runners come under plenty of scrutiny but this gelding seems to have a lot on his plate.

Trained by Gordon Elliott, Duffle Coat's best form tends to be on decent ground, including when winning the 52k Mayo National and finishing second in the Galway Plate. Even with those big performances, the Racing Post have rated his most recent run at the Cheltenham Festival as the best effort of his career so far. In that race, he was top-weight in the newly created National Hunt Chase Handicap and was still in with a big chance when he was brought down two out. If the rain stays away Duffle Coat could be an interesting outsider.