Grand National horses from Ireland

The Gordon Elliott trained gelding is a winning machine having won thirteen times already with two sequences of five wins in a row.   The highlight of his wins so far was undoubtedly defeating Gold Cup winner A Plus Tard two seasons ago in the Grade One Savills Chase at Leopardstown. Since that memorable victory, Galvin's form has dipped and he has recorded just one win in his last ten races. The slump in form has prompted Gordon Elliott to pursue a Cross Country route with the ten-year-old gelding and Galvin took to the discipline immediately when finishing runner-up to Delta Work in his first race over the Cross Country obstacles at last season's Cheltenham Festival. This season has seen three defeats for Galvin, including two in handicaps on the Cheltenham Cross Country course but he ran really well when finishing fourth in the Grade Two Boyne Hurdle at Navan in February. The ground that day was heavy which would definitely not have been to Galvin's liking but he put in a promising performance and was only five lengths. Undoubtedly at his best on a sounder surface, Galvin is eleven pounds lower than when attempting the Grand National for the first time last season where he unseated Davy Russell at the first fence. At the unveiling of the Grand National weights this year, trainer Gordon Elliott was sweet on Galvin's chance at Aintree and the handicapper has undoubtedly taken a risk with the mark he has given the gelding for this year's Grand National. The main drawbacks to Galvin's hopes would be his preference for good ground and his jumping which can be chancy. However, given he could now be extremely well handicapped, those concerns could be risks worth taking.

Vanillier ran a remarkable race in last year's Grand National 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. This year Vanillier has been well campaigned by Gavin Cromwell, running in three races which were unlikely to play to the gelding’s strengths in that they were at distances well short of his best. The result of these runs was for the UK handicapper to allocate the nine-year-old gelding a handicap mark of 151 just four pounds higher than his excellent performance last year. Once his Aintree mark had been set, trainer Cromwell directed his charge to the Bobbyjo at Fairyhouse, the same race he warmed up for the Grand National in last year.  As with last year, Vanillier finished second at Fairyhouse, this time though he was comprehensively outpointed by Grand National opponent, I Am Maximus. Vanillier kept tabs on I Am Maximus until approaching the last fence but from there the Mullins trained runner sprinted away for a fourteen length victory. Connections were far from despondent with jockey Sean Flanagan feeling his mount had run better than when second to Kemboy in the same race last year. The jockey maintained he had wanted to give Vanillier a proper race and that he felt the quality of the opposition was higher than twelve months ago.  Undoubtedly, Vanillier will go to Aintree with plenty of confidence behind him as he attempts to be the first horse since Mon Mome in 2009 to win the Grand National after previously been beaten in the race.

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 that defending his Grand National crown is the plan for 2025 but this time around I Am Maximus is likely to have around ten pounds more to hike around Aintree. A winner now of six races including an Irish Grand National and a Grade One novice chase, where I Am Maximus showed his versatility by being able to win such a high-class race over just two-and-a-half miles. 2025 did not start well for I Am Maximus though 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 eighth place in the Irish Gold Cup but, again, that effort was littered with jumps where the gelding went violently out to his left. He remains the ante-post favourite for the Grand National in 2025 but his propensity to jump out to his left this season must be a big worry for his supporters.

Minella Indo is a dual Cheltenham Festival winner having taken the Albert Bartlett Hurdle in 2019 and the Gold Cup in 2021. To add to those victories he finished runner-up to Allaho in the Brown Advisory in 2020 and again to A Plus Tard when defending the Gold Cup in 2022.  This season trainer Henry de Bromhead has decided to focus Minella Indo at Cross Country races and he was favourite for the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival before that race was abandoned. Despite recording two victories since his defeat to A Plus Tard in the Gold Cup, Minella Indo’s level of general form has seemed to drop and he has been well beaten in his three attempts at Grade One level since that defeat. It seems sensible then to drop his level of racing down to Cross Country races and he ran really well in defeat in that discipline when humping loads of weight in the Cross Country handicap at the Cheltenham December meeting. He finished fourth, not beaten far, behind Latenightpass. The bookmakers had made Minella Indo favourite for the Festival Cross Country on the back of that run and he has also been well backed for the AIntree Grand National.  It’s difficult to forecast how Minella Indo will get on in an open handicap such as the Grand National for the first time. His victories in the Gold Cup and Albert Bartlett suggest that the extended distance at Aintree might not be a problem for him but the Grand National is always ultra competitive and Minella Indo is definitely not the horse he was. He is eleven-years-old now and set to carry over eleven stone so it would seem likely that he will find a few younger, better handicapped horses too good for him at Aintree.

Meetingofthewaters is in his novice season over fences but has already won a 99k handicap for Willie Mullins. The seven-year-old 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 the gelding recording a smooth four and a half length victory under a confident Danny Mullins. Understandably the Irish handicapper was suitably impressed and put Meetingofthewaters up fifteen pounds for that win with an additional two pounds added by the UK handicapper for the Grand National to give him a mark of 147. The handicappers weren’t the only people impressed by this gelding as legendary owner JP McManus persuaded Paul Byrne to sell him this horse at the beginning of March. Meetingofthewaters travelled over to the Cheltenham Festival to run in the Ultima Handicap Chase where he went off one of the favourites at 6/1. Mark Walsh was in the saddle as the gelding carried the famous colours of JP McManus for the first time and he ran really well beaten just under six lengths in third by Chianti Classico.  That run looks to have set Meetingofthewaters up perfectly for Aintree where he looks sure to be a very popular selection.

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 seven 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 so far campaigned this horse at the Grade One level and he has been comprehensively beaten on his three starts by 25, 41 and 32 lengths. 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 it will be very interesting to see how the British handicapper rates him for the 2025 Grand National.