March 2025

Minella Times

admin March 13, 2025

Owned by J.P. McManus and trained by Henry de Bromhead in Knockeen, Co. Waterford, Minella Times was retired from racing in February 2023, having won four of his 24 races under National Hunt Rules and just shy of £500,000 in prize money. However, he will always be best remembered for his historic victory in the 2021 Grand National, which was worth £375,000 to the winner but, more importantly, made Rachael Blackmore the first female jockey in history to win the internationally renowned steeplechase.

A winner at Listowel earlier in the season and subsequently second in two valuable handicap chases at Leopardstown, Minella Times headed to Aintree at the top of his game and was consequently sent off at 11/1 third-favourite, behind Cloth Cap and Any Second Now, to win the Grand National at his first attempt. He enjoyed a trouble-free passage throughout the race, taking a narrow lead on the turn for home, extending that lead to 2 lengths at the final fence and further still on the run-in, eventually coming home 6½ lengths of his stable companion Balko Des Flos, who belied odds of 100/1 to give his trainer a memorable 1-2 in the race. An ecstatic Blackmore said afterwards, “I feel so incredibly lucky. It is unbelievable, I’m just so thrilled.”

Minella Times never won again and, in fact, failed to complete the course in five of his last szie starts. He was sent off at 9/1 second-favourite for the 2022 Grand National, but was badly hampered and brought down at Valentine’s Brook on the first circuit. Despite being pulled up on both starts in 2022/23, he was being trained for the 2023 Grand National, but suffered a setback in his preparation and connections opted to retire him instead. Reflecting on his earlier triumph, Henry de Bromhead said, “The day he won the Grand National was magic. It’s up there with one of our best ever days in racing and one we’ll never forget.”

Foinavon

admin March 13, 2025

Two fences on the Grand National Course bear the names of previous runners in the celebrated steeplechase. Valentine’s Brook, originally known simply as the Second Brook, was renamed after Valentine, who reputedly performed a feat of equine gymnastics to clear the fence before finishing third in the 1840 Grand National. Foinavon, on the other hand, has been so-called since 1984 and commemorates Foinavon, trained by John Kempton, who, in 1967, became arguably the most unlikely Grand National winner of all time. Indeed, at the time of writing, he remains one of just five horses in the history of the National to win at odds of 100/1.

To put matters in perspective, so unfancied was Foinavon that neither Kempton nor his owner, Cyril Watkins, were at Aintree on April 8, 1967 to witness his memorable victory. Ironically, the fence now known as Foinavon, which is jumped as the seventh and twenty-third obstacle during the Grand National, is one of the smallest on the course, at a height of just 4’6″. Nevertheless, on the second circuit in 1967 it was the site of a dramatic pile-up caused, in the first instance, by the riderless Popham Down, who ran down the fence and brought the majority of the field to a standstill.

Racing from some way off the pace, in the hands of the unheralded John Buckingham, Foinavon was the only horse to jump the fence cleanly at the first attempt and, to the astonishment of comnentator Michael O’Hehir, established a clear lead, “about 50, 100 yards in front of everything else!” At the next fence, the Canal Turn, Foinavon was still 30 lengths or so clear, and while his advantage dwindled over the final half a dozen fences, he still passed the post 15 lengths ahead of his nearest rival, the favourite Honey End, who had been remounted by his jockey, Josh Gifford.

Don’t Push It

admin March 13, 2025

As the late, great Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain told BBC Sport in the aftermath of the 2010 Grand National, “You always get a fairytale at Aintree and you couldn’t have written anything better.” On April 10, 2010, the ‘fairytale’ revolved the connections of the winner, Don’t Push It, namely J.P. McManus, in whose familiar green-and-gold silks he raced, trainer Jonjo O’Neill and jockey Tony McCoy, all of whom were achieving their first victories in the world famous steeplechase.

Sent off 10/1 joint-favourite, having been backed in from 22/1 earlier in the day, Don’t Push It never really gave his supporters an anxious moment. Settled in midfield on the first circuit, the 10-year-old made headway to race more prominently on the second and was one of a group of four – the others being Black Apalchi, Hello Bud and the other joint-favourite Big Fella Thanks – who pulled clear with two to jump. Don’t Push lead, narrowly, over the final fence, but asserted on the run-in, staying on strongly to beat Black Apalachi by five lengths. State Of Play took a modest third, 20 lengths behind the first two, from Big Fella Thanks close home.

Victory in the National marked a return to form for Don’t Push It, who had been pulled up over hurdles in the Pertemps Final at the Cheltenham Festival on his previous start, having “appeared to lose interest”, as O’Neill later reported to the Aintree stewards. The Old Vic gelding struggled for form thereafter, too, although he did return to Aintree to finish a modest third behind Ballabriggs in the 2011 Grand National, again under McCoy. He ran just once more, finishing unplaced in a handicap hurdle at Cheltenham in November 2011, and was retired from racing the following January. Nevertheless, he will always be remembered for what bookmaker Paddy Power deemed, in financial terms, “probably the worst ever National result”.

Grand National 2025: Intense Raffles

admin March 13, 2025

Formerly trained in France by Patrice Quinton, Intense Raffles joined Thomas Gibney in Trim, Co. Meath in November 2023 and enjoyed an unblemished novice campaign in 2023/24, winning three times at Fairyhouse. His biggest win, so far, came in the Irish Grand National, run over three miles and five furlongs, on heavy going, at the Ratoath course on April 1, 2024. An 11lb weight rise inevitably followed, at least over fences, but for his first two starts of 2024/25 the son of top-class National Hunt sire Martaline has been campaigned over hurdles, for which his handicap mark remains 10lb lower.

After two modest efforts over the smaller obstacles at Navan in December and January, Intense Raffles made his first appearance of the season over obstacles in the Grade 3 Bobbyjo Chase, over three and a quarter miles, back at Fairyhouse in late February. On that occasion, he made the running, but could never quite shake off the attentions of favourite Nick Rockett, who was in receipt of 3lb, and was eventually beaten threequarters of a length, with the pair 6 lengths clear of the third horse home.

Intense Raffles could potentitally face Nick Rockett again in the Grand National, in which the latter is set to concede 12lb, so it is not difficult to see why he is just second favourite, at 10/1, ante-post to become the first winner of the celebrated steeplechase in the two-tone green colours of owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede. All of his best form, so far, has come with plenty of cut in the ground so, while four miles and two and half furlongs seems likely to be within his compass, it remains to be see if he is quite so effective if the going at Aintree is slightly faster.

On 18th March, Intense Raffles became favourite to win the Grand National, to be held on Saturday, 5th Apr 2025, at 4:00 pm, when Inothewayurthinkin was withdrawn from the race.

Grand National 2025: Inothewayurthinkin

admin March 13, 2025

UPDATE: On 18th March, National favourite was Inothewayurthinkin pulled out of the race. Off the back of a stunning Cheltenham Gold Cup win, trainer Gavin Cromwell and owner JP McManus decided that it could prove to be a race too far for the seven year old. ” It’s all about doing the right thing for the horse.” said  Cromwell. The new favourite for the 2025 Grand National is Intense Raffles at 7-1 at time of writing.

At the time of writing, the 2025 Grand National is less than a month away and, while further declaration stages are due in March before the final field is revealed on April 3, the ante-post market has taken shape since the weights were published on February 11. Currently, favourite for the £500,000 first prize money is Inothewayurthinkin (3/1), owned by John P. McManus and trained by Gavin Cromwell in Navan, Co. Meath. Inothewayurthinkin was 8/1 prior to a storming Cheltenham Gold Cup win on Friday 14th February, beating favourite Galopin Des Champs into second, as he attempted to gain his third Gold Cup victory in a row.

A seven-year-old gelding by Derby runner-up Walk In The Park, Inothewayurthinkin readily justified favouritism in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival and followed up with another comfortable victory in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree a month later. In that latter Grade 1 contest, he beat Iroko, who is potentially just 1lb better off in the National, by 4 lengths, so must have every chance of confirming that form.

In 2024/25 so far, Inothewayurthinkin has once again been highly tried, competing without success in the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase, the Savills Chase at Leopardstown and Irish Gold Cup, over the same course and distance. Nevertheless, his closing fourth, beaten 7¼ lengths by the winner, Galopin Des Champs, suggests that his handicap mark of 160 is more than fair, for all that he is 15lb higher in the weights than the last time he ran in a handicap.

Inothewayurthinkin has yet to win beyond three and a quarter miles, so his stamina for the extra mile or so of the Grand National distance has to be taken on trust. Likewise, he has yet to win on going faster than soft, but the whole of the National Course is routinely watered to maintain the going on the soft side of good, so he should not be unduly incovenienced by underfoot conditions.