Champion trainer Willie Mullins has never won the Boylesports Irish Grand National before but in a year of firsts for the master at Closutton, 2019 could be the year he finally gets this particular monkey off his back…
Pairofbrowneyes is the first of seven Mullins horses declared to post, a horse who skipped the Aintree version of the race to focus on winning this one. The 10yo gelding went off a well-backed 13/2f in the race last year, only to come to grief at the fifth fence. He has enjoyed a fairly low key build up this time, but he put together a performance of some merit when landing a 14-runner handicap at Naas from a mark of 146 the last day; albeit in a slow time. Pairofbrowneyes certainly has an interesting profile and must be respected, but the ground will be plenty fast for the horse and one or two others may have more up their sleeve from the handicapper. If you like Pairofbrowneyes, he is 10/1 with sponsors Boylesports.
Son Patrick will get his leg up on former Hennessy winner Total Recall, currently trading at 14/1 with Boylesports. This lad has also had a low-key prep for this race and given the touch of class he undeniably possesses, he too has to be on the shortlist of likely winners. He finished 6 lengths behind Al Boum Photo at Tramore two starts back, before chasing home re-opposing Irish National top weight Tout Est Permis at Thurles last time out. Once again though, one can’t help but feel he doesn’t have much in disguise of the handicapper at this point of his career. Katie O’Farrell will claim 5lb off the already lowly weighted C’est Jersey, a 20/1 shot running for Willie Mullins in the colours of Isaac Souede and Simon Munir. This 7yo doesn’t have too many miles on the clock and brings useful form to the table, however one does have to wonder if he’ll have the overall stamina and resilience for a test of this nature.
Bellow Mome, Acapella Bourgeois and Isleofhopendreams will also represent the stable and have their own claims to reaching the frame here, but they all have plenty to find in order to trouble the judge.
The one horse we haven’t mentioned yet and perhaps the most likely winner of all, is BURROWS SAINT, currently a 9/1 shot with Boylesports. This 6yo – owned by Rich Ricci – has won two of his five chase starts to date and he looked a really promising stayer when he slammed Robin Des Foret in a Grade 3 Novices’ Chase at Limerick at the end of March. A 7lb penalty means he will run here from a mark of 144, but this strong, imposing son of Saint Des Saints could have any amount of improvement in the locker. Burrows Saint is the choice of Ruby Walsh which says enough in itself and although there is plenty of water to go under the bridge in terms of betting activity today, Burrows Saint looks the most likely to go off a clear favourite.
Chasing over marathon trips is increasingly becoming a young man’s game and in a race filled with exposed looking runners, BURROWS SAINT does rather stand out. Willie Mullins managed to land his first Cheltenham Gold Cup last month and in Burrows Saint, he looks to have a perfect candidate to win his first Boylesports Irish Grand National.
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