Weights revealed for BOYLE Sports Irish Grand National

Cheltenham Festival winners Holloway Queen and Johnnywho are featured on the list of entrants that could line up to target the €500,000 prize pot in the BOYLE Sports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday.  

Nicky Henderson’s National Hunt Chase winner Holloway Queen has been made a 14-1 shot by the race sponsors and is the shortest priced of eight British entries, while Ultima winner Jonnywho has been chalked up at 16-1 in the green and gold silks of JP McManus.

The Festival winning duo were two of 85 entries revealed for the 2026 renewal during Wednesday’s official weights launch, topped by 2023 BOYLE Sports Irish Grand National winner and 2024 Aintree Grand National winner, I Am Maximus.

Trainer Willie Mullins is also responsible for second weight Grangeclare West (25-1), however his best chance of a victory according to the oddsmakers comes from Quai De Bourbon, who is a 16-1 shot to deliver a third win in the iconic race for the Closutton maestro having been sent off 11-2 favourite last year.  

Oscars Brother and Win Some Lose Some have been installed as 10-1 joint-favourites for the race, the richest jumps contest on the Irish racing calendar. The Connor King-trained eight-year-old Oscars Brother, also owned by JP McManus, was last seen finishing fourth in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Dublin Racing Festival runner-up Win Some Lose Some represents Irish trainer Padraig Roche, who is fresh from Cheltenham success with Saratoga. 

Last year’s winning trainer, Rebecca Curtis, has entered Newton Tornado, who will have to overcome odds of 33-1 if he is to emulate stablemate Haiti Coleurs who was victorious in the race last year.  

Sharks Hanlon’s pint-sized stable star Hewick, who has conquered the King George, Galway Plate and American Grand National, received a surprise entry having run a fine race in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham and is 20-1 to add another big prize to his illustrious CV.  

Weights for the Easter Monday showpiece - for which BOYLE Sports are paying five places - were revealed at the yard of Tom Dreaper, who has entered Folly Master (25-1) as he bids to become the third generation of the Dreaper family to win the BOYLE Sports Irish Grand National. His grandfather of the same name recorded nine victories in the race including with Arkle in 1964, while his father Jim was a four-time winning trainer. 

Brian O’Keeffe, Media Relations Manager for BOYLE Sports, said: “The BOYLE Sports Irish Grand National is always one of the highlights of the Irish racing calendar and this year’s renewal is shaping up to be another incredibly competitive contest. With the likes of Oscars Brother and Win Some Lose Some heading the early betting, alongside strong entries from leading trainers on both sides of the Irish Sea, we can’t wait to see it all unfold on Easter Monday.”