Aries Grand National Horses

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.

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.