Tag Archive for: Irish Grand National

Max powers home for Mullins and Townend in Irish National

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I Am Maximus lunged late to claim victory in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse.

The seven-year-old was an 8-1 chance in the three-mile-five-furlong feature for the all-conquering Willie Mullins and Paul Townend.

Ridden patiently in among the field of 27, the JP McManus-owned gelding looked set to finish out of the placings – but came to the fore as contenders dropped away and he was ridden to get into contention over the penultimate fence.

Over the last he jumped his way into third place and then battled past long-time leader Defi Bleu and Gevrey to prevail by a length.

Townend said: “It was looking unlikely for a long way. I just tried to get him back popping.

“He was too slow jumping down the inside. I wanted to keep horses outside of me but it cut me out of the race so I had to let him go left and bank on one at the last.

“You never write off one of Willie’s, but it was certainly a lot harder work than it normally is riding for him!

“This is a very special race. It’s huge to win this. You need so much luck. I finished second here a few years back (on Away We Go in 2013) and my record besides that wasn’t great.

“I thought Gaillard Du Mesnil was my best chance in it last year and he ran well to finish third. I’m very fortunate that this lad popped up and that it worked out in the end.”

David Casey, assistant to to Mullins, added: “It was absolutely unbelievable. I don’t have the words, I thought it was absolutely brilliant.

“We know how good a rider Paul is anyway, I didn’t think he could better Galopin Des Champs from Cheltenham but I thought that was amazing.

“He wasn’t travelling, he didn’t seem to be enjoying it down the inside in the crowd. Paul just kept persevering, kept galvanising and kept saving and kept him jumping.

“He has his quirks and I thought it was an unbelievable ride.

“He does idle a little bit when he gets to the front and he does jump a little bit left. Paul was brilliant and the horse obviously had the ability to go and do it as well.”

Conditions crucial to Thedevilscoachman’s Irish National claims

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Noel Meade feels soft ground is key to the chances of ante-post favourite Thedevilscoachman in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse.

The JP McManus-owned seven-year-old has won three of his six starts over fences to date, supplementing four victories from six outings over hurdles.

His only defeat in four chase appearances so far this season came in December’s Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse when falling at the final fence, since when he has registered back-to-back Grade Three victories at Naas and Limerick.

He carries a 2lb penalty for the latter success a fortnight ago and Meade is hopeful he can make his presence felt if conditions are suitable and he can overcome a perceived lack of experience.

“Everything is good at the moment, we’re just hoping the ground doesn’t dry up too much,” he said.

“Everything has gone good since he won in Limerick. He’s still only a novice and he has to overcome that. He hasn’t had that many runs over fences, but we’re hopeful.

“He certainly stays three miles well. You don’t really know about three-mile-five until you have a go so we’ll see, but hopefully he will stay.”

Thedevilscoachman is one of three runners for Meade, who won the 2002 Irish Grand National with The Bunny Boiler.

Lieutenant Command and Farceur Du Large are both outsiders for Gigginstown House Stud, but Meade believes it would be dangerous to dismiss them, adding: “They’re definitely not out of it.

Trainer Noel Meade will saddle three runners in the Irish Grand National
Trainer Noel Meade will saddle three runners in the Irish Grand National (Niall Carson/PA)

“Lieutenant Command wants good ground and the better the ground, the better the chance he’ll have. Again the trip is a bit of an unknown with him, but he’s a fine horse and if we get good ground he’ll certainly give a good account of himself.

“Farceur Du Large was running a good race in the Paddy Power Chase in Leopardstown over Christmas and then made a mistake which put him out of it.

“He unshipped Bryan (Cooper) at the first the last day and it’s hard to get that of your head, but he’s still a horse who could run well if things go his way.”

Sam Curling’s Angels Dawn and the Gavin Cromwell-trained Stumptown renew rivalry after being separated by only a neck when first and second in the Kim Muir at last month’s Cheltenham Festival.

Angels Dawn leads Stumptown at the final fence at Cheltenham
Angels Dawn leads Stumptown at the final fence at Cheltenham (David Davies/PA)

Curling said: “She came out of Cheltenham well and we’ve been happy with her since, so all is good.

“They’re giving a bit of rain tonight, so you’d hope the ground will be soft and there’s plenty in our favour hopefully.

“For a small yard like ours, it’s great to have a runner in an Irish Grand National with a chance and we’re looking forward to it.”

The powerhouse stables of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott are well represented, with Mullins saddling I Am Maximus, Tenzing and Dolcita, while Chemical Energy and The Goffer are two of eight for Elliott.

I Am Maximus finished fourth in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham and he was subsequently bought by JP McManus, whose racing manager Frank Berry said: “He ran well at Cheltenham. He’s still a maiden (over fences) but it’s a good race for novices and Willie is very happy with him. We’re hoping to see a good run in what is a very competitive race.”

Other leading hopes include Martin Brassil’s Panda Boy, Henry de Bromhead’s Amirite and Barry Connell’s Espanito Bello, while Joseph O’Brien has a couple of chances in Fire Attack and Busselton.

He said: “Fire Attack would love soft ground whereas Busselton is seen to best effect on slightly better ground, but he’s been a very consistent horse.

“Fire Attack has had a couple of falls. He’s actually a good jumper, but he’s made a couple of silly mistakes and fell in the Kerry National.

“He’s been a little bit unlucky, but he’s threatened to win a big race and I think he will when things fall his way.”

Irish National bid not ruled out for Lord Lariat

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Last year’s winner Lord Lariat and the veteran Captain Cj could represent Dermot McLoughlin in his bid for a remarkable third successive victory in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse.

Based less than five miles from the track, the County Meath handler saddled 150-1 shot Freewheelin Dylan to claim the traditional Easter Monday feature in 2021 and repeated the feat last spring as 40-1 chance Lord Lariat secured the lion’s share of the huge €500,000 prize fund.

McLoughlin’s father Liam claimed Irish Grand National glory as a jockey in 1962 when partnering Kerforo for legendary trainer Tom Dreaper, who won the race on a record 10 occasions including seven renewals on the spin in the 1960s, with chasing greats Arkle and Flyingbolt among the victors.

Dreaper’s son Jim won the staying prize four times in 1970s, with Brown Lad winning three – and speaking at the launch of this year’s renewal at his yard on Tuesday morning, McLoughlin junior admitted to have his name on the roll of honour is a dream come true.

Lord Lariat and Patrick O’Hanlon winning the Irish Grand National
Lord Lariat and Patrick O’Hanlon winning the Irish Grand National (Niall Carson/PA)

“I worked for Jim Dreaper for 15 years and there was plenty of good horses there going for the Irish National at the time,” he said.

“My father rode the winner of it and I remember a lot of people coming to talk to him about Arkle and Flyingbolt back in his day, so I got wrapped up in the Irish National and never forget being taken there from a very early age every Easter Monday.”

McLoughlin’s celebrations were relatively muted two years ago, with Irish racing taking place behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he was able to enjoy his 2022 success with his family and friends.

He added: “It was always an aim of mine just to have a runner in the race, let alone a winner. We’ve been blessed to have two winners and I got serious satisfaction out of both.

“Last year was great as we came home and there were plenty of neighbours and plenty of staff and it was great for everyone.”

Lord Lariat has run three times since last year’s triumph – finishing fourth behind Galvin in a Grade Three at Punchestown, sixth in the Porterstown Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse in December and seventh over hurdles at Leopardstown on Monday on his return from a three-month break.

A tilt at the Randox Grand National at Aintree on April 15 appears his more likely target this time around, but McLoughlin is not ruling out the possibility of him instead turning up at Fairyhouse earlier that week.

“At the moment, Lord Lariat is Aintree-bound. The lads that own him want to have one go at it, but that could change and I might swing him back to Fairyhouse,” said the trainer.

“I gave him a run on Monday and I thought he ran very well actually. That will hopefully leave him spot-on, although he might get another run or a racecourse gallop and school somewhere.

“We’re happy with the weight in the Irish Grand National (10st 4lb) and everything else, so we’ll see what happens.”

Dermot McLoughlin's string on the gallops
Dermot McLoughlin’s string on the gallops (Alan Magee/PA)

McLoughlin has two other entries in Captain Cj and The Echo Boy, but the latter has little prospect of making the cut at the very bottom of the weights.

Captain Cj, who was off the track for well over two years before finishing down the field over hurdles at Gowran Park last month, is also well down the order of entry – but does have the opportunity to pick up a penalty that would move him up the list if he can win this weekend’s Leinster National at Naas.

“I think the handicapper has been too generous with Captain Cj – he mightn’t get in now,” McLoughlin continued.

“He had leg trouble and missed a year and then we were ready to go again and he then got suspensory trouble. He’s a good horse, but unfortunately just ran into trouble.

“He’s getting on now and it’s not straightforward, but he’s sound at the moment and we’ll see how he runs on Sunday and go from there.”

McLoughlin admits taking on the likes of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott for top honours is a difficult task, but one he relishes rather than fears.

He said: “It’s like footballers or golfers – we all have to compete.

“I enjoy taking on the bigger lads. We’ve had well handicapped horses (for the Irish Grand National) in the last couple of years and things came right.

“Every day you go out you’re taking on Willie and Gordon and Henry (de Bromhead) and a few others, but we just have to compete at the level we can and when we hit the spring and the ground changes we seem to hit form, so long may it continue.

“It isn’t easy in any game – sport in general is tough.”

Conflated has been allotted top-weight for the Irish Grand National
Conflated has been allotted top-weight for the Irish Grand National (Niall Carson/PA)

With Irascible not qualified, a total of 83 horses are in Irish Grand National contention.

At the head of the weights on 11st 12lb is the 168-rated Conflated, who is first bound for next week’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.

He is one of 19 entries for Gordon Elliott along with the likes of Galvin (11st 9lb), Fury Road (11st 5lb), Delta Work (10st 13lb) and Coko Beach (10st 11lb).

Gold Cup contender Stattler (11st 7lb) is the highest-rated of 14 Willie Mullins-trained possibles, while Venetia Williams’ Royale Pagaille (11st 4lb) and Dan Skelton’s Ashtown Lad (9st 13lb) are a couple of interesting potential challengers from Britain.

Ireland’s National Hunt handicapper, Sandy Shaw, said: “It’s a fantastic entry and high quality race. There’s 17 horses rated 150-plus and there’s multiple Grade One winners in it.

“The question none of us can answer at this stage is what is going to run. There’s a lot of horses at the top end that are in the Aintree National as well and it’s difficult to know what is going to be top-weight.”