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.”