Grand National: what connections say plus video tip

JP McManus has never hidden his love of the Grand National and claiming the outright record for wins in the great race with a fourth success on Saturday would be the icing on the cake following last month’s Gold Cup triumph.

Cheltenham hero Inothewayurthinkin is absent from the Randox-sponsored Aintree spectacular – but there will be a five-star squad carrying the famous green and gold colours, including the Willie Mullins-trained I Am Maximus, who was so brilliant 12 months ago.

Mullins said on Thursday he feels he has the nine-year-old “exactly where I want him” after two moderate runs at Leopardstown so far this season.

And Frank Berry, racing manager to McManus, is happy to have I Am Maximus leading the team: “We’re going there with some really nice horses and we hope to have a bit of luck on the day.

“Things haven’t been as smooth for I Am Maximus this year and there’s been a few little hiccups along the way, which isn’t ideal, but Willie thinks he’s back in good form.

“I’m not sure how he’ll cope with drying ground and he would probably like a bit more juice in the ground, but hopefully he will be all right on the day.

“He couldn’t have done it any better last year, he was very good.”

Mullins also runs Meetingofthewaters, while Gavin Cromwell’s Perceval Legallois is another strongly-fancied Irish raider for McManus following two wins over fences and hurdles this winter.

Berry said of the latter: “We were a little bit disappointed in the autumn, but he turned up trumps at Leopardstown over Christmas and then went back there over hurdles and was very good once again.

“He would maybe like more juice in the ground, but Gavin’s horses are in great form, so he goes there in good order.”

Nicky Henderson’s Chantry House will be a long shot in the McManus silks, but Iroko is among the market leaders for the Cheshire-based team of Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero.

Greenall – son of former Aintree chairman Lord Daresbury, who oversaw the bomb scare National and the void race that never was – commented: “We’d like it a little bit softer, but they’ve done a great job with the ground and it should be perfectly fine.

“Everything has gone well up to this point and it’s very exciting. The plan will be to just get him settled in mid-division and enjoying himself and then take it from there.”

Irish trainers have taken six of the last eight renewals and Cromwell’s Stumptown is vying for favouritism following his impressive cross-country success at the Cheltenham Festival, while stablemate Vanillier was an eyecatching third in that race and seeks to go one better than his 2023 National second.

Cromwell said: “Stumptown seems very well, it’s a quick enough turnaround but he seems very fresh and well.

“He’s been very good this season, the drying ground is a small bit of a concern. It’s going to be a fast pace, we just need him to keep his position and then hopefully he’ll stay well.

“He’s going to love the fences. He loves the cross-country fences so I think it will really bring out the best in him.

“Vanillier ran very well at Cheltenham, again he’s one that may struggle to keep his position as I imagine he’s going to be flat out. He will stay well, so I just hope he doesn’t get too far back.

“Perceval Legallois is coming into it a bit fresher than the other two, he’s never gone further than three miles, but I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.

“He should travel round fine as he has a little bit more pace, he hasn’t been round Aintree but he has seen the fences at home and jumped them fine, so hopefully he will take to it.”

Tom Gibney’s Intense Raffles bids to follow up last year’s Irish Grand National triumph with an even more famous victory for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.

Their racing manager Anthony Bromley said: “Tom has been very happy with his preparation and the horse is relatively unexposed and we hope he is reasonably handicapped.

“We would have liked it to have been proper soft ground rather than watered soft ground, but it is what it is and we couldn’t be happier with the horse at the moment.”

Aintree glory would add another amazing chapter to the Hewick fairytale, with the €850 bargain buy having already earned over £750,000 in prize-money.

Trainer John ‘Shark’ Hanlon said: “There has only been one plan for this year and that plan has been in place for the last six months. The English National is the race we want and, please God, all we ask is a bit of luck now.”

Paul Nicholls has five darts to fire at the Randox Grand National, as Kandoo Kid leads his team for the world’s most greatest steeplechase.

The grey is the most fancied of the quintet, a nine-year-old with Aintree form as he was third in the Topham at the meeting last year.

This season he returned to action at Newbury to land the Coral Gold Cup, after which he was unplaced when stepping down markedly in trip for the Greatwood Gold Cup at the same track.

“We’ve five nice horses to run and you just hope they can run to their best,” said Nicholls.

“Kandoo Kid won a Coral Gold Cup and he’s the one who you hope has still got a bit of improvement in him off his handicap mark.

“He’s gone well round there before and Coral Gold Cup winners have a good record in the race. Hopefully he will be our leading chance.”

Previous King George winner and Gold Cup runner-up Bravemansgame is the mount of France-based James Reveley, with Threeunderthrufive to be ridden by Harry Skelton.

“Threeunderthrufive has been placed in a Scottish National and has been running well, and Bravemansgame is a King George winner who has dropped down the weights a fair bit,” Nicholls continued.

“He’s been a great horse and as well as his King George, he’s finished second in a Gold Cup and he’s now dropped from the 170s to 155 and if he likes it, he’s a well-capable horse.

Freddie Gingell will get the leg-up on Hitman, whereas Stay Away Fay is the ride of Paul O’Brien.

Nicholls added: “We have Hitman who is a class horse and Stay Away Fay who is slowly coming back to form, I think.”

Henry de Bromhead will saddle Minella Indo, winner of the 2021 Gold Cup and third in the Grand National last year, with stablemate Senior Chief also due to compete.

“He ran a blinder last year, we were delighted with him. We just hope he can do similar this year,” De Bromhead said of Minella Indo.

“The handicapper has given him a small bit of a chance (dropped 1lb from last year) but he didn’t miss him either. This has been the plan for him this year and we love watching him run, he’s a star.

“Senior Chief won well at Cheltenham in the autumn and then he was probably a bit disappointing at Newbury in the Coral Gold Cup (sixth), he didn’t really jump.

“He seems good again now and we hope he’s back to his best. Darragh O’Keeffe will ride him and Rachael (Blackmore) has chosen to ride Indo, she’s really happy with him.”

Betfair ambassador Blackmore added: "Minella Indo is such a brilliant horse, he’s such a joy to have anything to do with, and he’s in great form.

"He gave me a brilliant spin in the race last year.  He really took to the place, he jumped the fences well and we hit the front on the run-in.  In the end, we couldn't contain I Am Maximus, but it was a massive run by Indo.

"Minella Indo has only run twice since last year’s Grand National, but Henry is training him so that he will reach his peak again on Grand National day.  He’s 12 years old now, but I rode him work there the other day, and he didn’t work like a 12-year-old.  He’s a Gold Cup winner and he retains lots of his ability and all of his enthusiasm, and I’m hoping for a really big run from him again."

Jonjo and AJ O’Neill run Monbeg Genius, with the latter saying of the nine-year-old: “He’s in great form, we could do with a bit of rain, but we’re looking forward to seeing him run.

“Hopefully he can get a clear round and anything better than that we’ll be delighted.”

Gordon Elliott is another well-represented trainer, with five horses from his yard making the cut including bottom weight Duffle Coat.

Elliott expects Three Card Brag to be his main hope, with greys Fil Dor and Coko Beach joining him alongside Conflated.

“We’re probably going over there hopeful rather than confident, it looks a good race,” said Elliott, who is seeking a fourth National.

“We’ve a couple of each-way chances and if they run well that would be great.

“You would like to think Three Card Brag is the pick of them and he’s unexposed and the race has been the plan all year. It’s also been the plan for Fil Dor and he could outrun his odds.”

The Ben Pauling-trained Twig made the field at a late stage and will be ridden by Beau Morgan, the son of his owner Georgia Morgan.

Pauling said: “I would have liked to have seen him run better at Doncaster (seventh in the Grimthorpe), but that was a funny race, they went a million from the word go and he never really got into his rhythm like he can and he kept going and finished seventh.

“It wasn’t a disaster – it was a good opportunity to get a run under his belt and some of his early hurdle runs this season were very good. I was very pleased with those, but he seems in better form now than he has done all season. “