Fairyhouse tips: Irish Grand National horse-by-horse guide

Irish Grand National

• 17:00 Fairyhouse, Monday
• Live on ITV4
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Franco De Port

A Grade 1 winner over two miles as a novice chaser, he was only just beaten by Longhouse Poet in the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park over an extended three miles in January. He was only fourth in the Leinster National last time, and he has top weight, but the talented Jack Foley reduces his burden by 5lb.

Battleoverdoyen

A Grade 1 winner as a novice hurdler and as a novice chaser, but his win at the Galway Festival last July is his only win since October 2020. The handicapper has only relented a little, and he has to bounce back from a moderate performance in the Topham Chase at Aintree just 10 days ago.

Run Wild Fred

Second in the Irish National last year off a handicap rating of 140, he got off the mark over fences when he won the Troytown Chase at Navan earlier this year off a rating of 145. Second in the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Chase and in the National Hunt Chase this season, he was a faller at the Canal Turn first time in the Aintree Grand National. He is a high-class chaser and he is a player, but he is 15lb higher in the handicap than he was when he finished second last year.

Gaillard Du Mesnil

Second to Bob Olinger in the Ballymore Hurdle at Cheltenham last year and winner of the Grade 1 Alanna Homes Champion Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival, he hasn’t won in four attempts over fences this season, but he has been taking on some of the best novice chasers around, and he is progressive. Third behind his stable companion Galopin Des Champs in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival, he was third again behind L’Homme Presse in the Brown Advisory Chase at Cheltenham last time. Paul Townend has chosen to ride him in front of Franco De Port, and he has lots of potential. He is a big player, but his stamina for this extreme trip is as yet unproven.

Mount Ida

She did remarkably well to win the Kim Muir at Cheltenham last season, given the degree to which she jumped to her right, and she has looked much happier on right-handed tracks this season, winning at Clonmel at Fairyhouse. She under-performed in the Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham last month, and she got no further than the first fence in the Aintree Grand National but, back on a right-handed track and with Davy Russell for company, if she can get into her racing rhythm early, she could go well.

Ronald Pump

He ran a big race in the Leinster National at Naas last time, only going down by a half a length to Diol Ker, the pair of them clear. That was his first run over fences in over two years, and just his fourth run over fences ever, but he is a high-class hurdler, a Stayers’ Hurdle runner-up who ran Honeysuckle to a half a length in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle in 2020, and he is unexposed over staying trips over fences.

Farclas

A Triumph Hurdle winner, he put up good performances in four big handicap chases last season, including in the Aintree Grand National as a seven-year-old, when he was right there in the leading group on the run to the second last fence before he faded to finish fifth. He ran another big race in the Troytown Chase in November to finish second to his stable companion Run Wild Fred, but we haven’t seen him since then. A late scratching from the Aintree Grand National, he is classy and he is talented, and he goes there with a big chance if he can overcome his lack of race fitness.

Early Doors

He won the Martin Pipe Hurdle in 2019 and he won the Galway Plate in 2020. Off the track for 520 days after that, he returned over hurdles at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve, and his two subsequent runs have been satisfactory. He has to race off a mark of 148, 9lb higher than his Galway Plate winning mark, but it is probable that his astute connections have had this race in mind for him for a while.

Enjoy D’Allen

He was progressive throughout last season, and he ran a massive race in the Irish Grand National last year to finish third behind Freewheelin Dylan. Third in the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival this season, he was well fancied for the Aintree Grand National, when he got no further than the first fence. He remains of big interest.

Samcro

A Grade 1 winner over hurdles and fences at the Cheltenham Festival, his form has levelled off, although he did run well over three and a quarter miles at Down Royal last month to finish third. That run qualified him for the Aintree Grand National, in which he ran well for a long way before fading from the third last fence. He had a hard race there though, and it was only nine days ago.

Diol Ker

A talented hurdler, second in the Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park, he has found his metier of late over fences since he has stepped up to staying trips. He ran really well in the Thyestes Chase to finish fourth behind Longhouse Poet, and he got off the mark over fences last time when he battled on well to beat Ronald Pump in the Leinster National at Naas. He is 10lb higher now, but he is still 3lb lower than he is over hurdles. He is progressive and, winner of his maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse, he goes back there with a real chance.

Screaming Colours

He is all stamina, as he proved when he went to Uttoxeter last month and won the Midlands National, going three places better than he went last year. His Irish National mark of 147 is just 5lb higher than the British mark off which he won the Midlands National, and that looks fair. Winner of his beginners’ chase at Fairyhouse, he is 11 years old, and no horse aged older than 10 has won the Irish National since Mudahim in 1997, but he goes into the race in good form, and no seven-year-old had won the Aintree National since 1940 before last Saturday.

Off You Go

Winner of the Ladbrokes Hurdle at Leopardstown in 2018 and 2019, he proved that he could operate in big handicap chases as well as big handicap hurdles when he won the Leopardstown Chase in February last year. A creditable sixth in the Irish National last year, he has only run twice this winter, and he has been well beaten on both occasions, but he is 3lb lower now than he was for the Irish National last year, he wears cheekpieces for the first time, and it is interesting that Aidan Coleman is coming over to ride him for the first time.

Death Duty

Winner of the Grade 1 Drinmore Chase at Fairyhouse in 2017, he was recording his first win since when he won the Grand National Trial at Punchestown in February. Sixth in the Ultima Chase at Cheltenham, he unseated his rider at the Canal Turn first time in the Aintree Grand National. He stays well, but he may prefer softer ground than the ground that he is likely to encounter.

Max Flamingo

Winner of a handicap hurdle at this meeting last year, he ran well in beginners’ chases early in the season, behind Gabynako and Lieutenant Command and, fourth in the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Chase at Leopardstown at Christmas, he was impressive in winning his beginners’ chase at Thurles last month. He is bred to stay, he is progressive, he goes well at the track, and he has the potential to go well beyond the handicap rating of 144 off which he will race.

Fakir D’Alene

Winner of his maiden hurdle at Downpatrick last July, he has made rapid progress this season over fences, winning twice during the winter, and running a big race in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham to finish fourth behind Chambard, doing best of the Irish horses. That was a career-best performance, over the longest trip over which he had ever raced and, on ground that he will like and racing off a 1lb lower mark, he could step forward again.

Velvet Elvis

A dual winner over hurdles last season, he got off the mark over fences last month, after some promising runs in defeat, when he stepped up to three miles and stayed on well to win a good novices’ handicap chase at Navan off a mark of 133. He is 10lb higher now, but he is only six, and he could be progressive enough to take that type of hike in his stride. We know that he stays three miles well, he could improve for going even further, and trainer Tom Gibney won the Irish National in 2012 with Lion Na Bearnai.

School Boy Hours

He chased home some of the best novice chasers around last season and, a second-season novice, he stayed on strongly to win the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas. He was travelling well in the Kim Muir when a bad mistake at the fourth last fence ended his chance, and a bad mistake at Valentine’s first time ended his chance in the Aintree National. He is 9lb higher than he was when he won the Paddy Power, but there still could be some leeway in that mark.

Floueur

He battled on well to win his beginners’ chase at Fairyhouse in January and, third in the Grand National Trial at Punchestown, he was well beaten in the Ultima Chase at Cheltenham, for which he was sent off as favourite, when he returned without his left-fore shoe. He is only seven, he is nicely weighted, he goes well at the track, and there could be more to come.

Ten Ten

He has only won once over fences, but he has run some fine races in defeat, including when second in last year’s Leinster National and when he went down by just a neck to Brahma Bull in the Pat Taaffe Chase at the Punchestown Festival last May. Pulled up in his first two races this season, he shaped much more encouragingly last time in a handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse, and it is interesting that the excellent Mark Walsh rides him, out of all the JP McManus-owned horses he could have ridden.

Lieutenant Command - NR

Winner of his beginners’ chase at Fairyhouse in November, when he beat Max Flamingo by nearly two lengths, he was there with a real chance in a competitive novices’ handicap chase at Naas last time when he departed at the second last fence. He is a lightly-raced novice who is at the right end of the weights and from whom there could be more to come.

Aramax

Winner of the Fred Winter Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2020, he won his beginners’ chase at Fairyhouse in January 2021, but he hasn’t managed to win since. He did run well in defeat in the Galway Blazers at last year’s Galway Festival though, and he goes to Fairyhouse fresh, in first-time cheekpieces, his first run since he was pulled up in the Munster National in October.

Frontal Assault

A strong stayer, as evidenced by two wins in novice hurdles last season over around three miles, including a Grade 3 success at Navan in February on heavy ground, he proved that he could operate on better ground too when he forced a dead-heat for second place with his stable companion Grand Paradis at Fairyhouse in January, just a half a length behind another stable companion in Floueur. That was over two miles and five and a half furlongs, and he was staying on well at the end, so he should appreciate the step back up in trip. He was well beaten when well fancied for the Kim Muir at Cheltenham, so he has to put that behind him, but he was well beaten in the Martin Pipe Hurdle too at Cheltenham last year, it just may not be his track. By contrast, he has run well in both his races at Fairyhouse and, with Jack Kennedy on board, he could out-run decent odds.

Time To Get Up

Winner of the Midlands National at Uttoxeter last year off a mark of 138, he was sent off as favourite for this year’s renewal, when he raced off a 4lb higher mark and, on softer ground, finished third, 12 lengths behind Screaming Colours. He obviously stays well and, off a mark of 139, just 1lb higher than his Midlands National winning mark, he could go well on the better ground at Fairyhouse.

Champagne Platinum

A dual winner over hurdles and fifth in a Pertemps Final when he was with Nicky Henderson, he got off the mark over fences at Navan in January on his third run for Enda Bolger, when he stayed on strongly to snatch a victory that looked unlikely, getting home by a neck from Ain’t That A Shame. He stayed on well to take second place behind Death Duty in the Punchestown Grand National Trial and, if you can put a line through his latest defeat in the Leinster National, he goes there with a chance, in cheekpieces for the first time since his fine run in the Pertemps Final.

Full Time Score

A lightly-raced and wholly likeable young chaser, he was seriously impressive in winning a three-runner beginners’ chase at Gowran Park in March last year, and he stayed on well to win a rated chase at Fairyhouse in February this year. After that race, his trainer Henry de Bromhead suggested that the Irish Grand National would be a good target, so the fact that he hasn’t run since is a positive. A mark of 138 could under-rate his ability, we know that he goes well at the track and, with just four runs over fences on his CV, he has plenty of potential for progression.

Mister Fogpatches

He is a strong stayer, as he proved when he finished third in the Scottish Grand National last year and when he won a valuable three-mile-seven-furlong handicap chase at the Punchestown Festival last May. Third in the Thyestes Chase in January and sixth in the Ultima Chase at Cheltenham, he should run his race, and the fitting of cheekpieces for the first time could eke out a little more improvement.

Streets Of Doyen

A high-class staying novice hurdler last season, third in the Albert Bartlett Hurdle and fourth in the Sefton Hurdle, he won on his chasing bow at the Galway Festival in July, and he didn’t run badly over an inadequate two miles to finish third behind subsequent Maghull Chase winner Gentleman De Mee in the Grade 3 Flyingbolt Chase at Navan in March. He was out-classed in the Brown Advisory Chase at Cheltenham, but he is nicely weighted and this extreme distance could suit.

Lord Lariat

He was in good form earlier in the season, winning at Fairyhouse and Punchestown. He could only finish fifth behind Full Time Score in that rated chase at Fairyhouse in February, but that was his second run in 11 days, and you can be sure that Dermot McLoughlin, who sent out Freewheelin Dylan to win the Irish National last year, will have him freshened up and primed for this.

Smoking Gun

Winner of the Porterstown Chase over the Irish National course and distance in November, he stayed on well in that rated chase that Full Time Score won to finish a close-up third. He meets the winner on 7lb better terms now, and that gives him a chance.

Scoir Mear (reserve)

He is 12 now, and he hasn’t won since he won the Leinster National at Naas in March last year. He did well to get as close as he did from off the pace in a slowly-run handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse in February, but he will have to bounce back from a poor run in the Leinster National last time.

Definite Plan (reserve)

He stayed on well to just get up and beat The Hollow Ginge in a handicap chase over an extended three miles at Cheltenham’s October meeting. He hasn’t reached that level in three runs since, and he will have to bounce back.

Alfa Mix (reserve)

A high-class handicap hurdler, he hasn’t got off the mark yet over fences. He has run some decent races in defeat though, including when he was only just beaten by Fully Charged in a handicap chase at Punchestown in November, and there could yet be a good staying handicap chase in him off a chase mark that is 7lb lower than his hurdles mark.

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