Intense Raffles Odds and Grand National Form 2025

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 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 has been kept to hurdles this season with an obvious plan to protect his handicap mark over fences. 

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 will probably have to race around ten to twelve pounds higher at Aintree than his Fairyhouse win but there is every chance this gelding is progressing faster than his handicap mark.