The Grand National continues to get closer and closer, with anticipation building to the new look race on Saturday, 13th April. We look at the top five contenders according to the market below, assessing their strengths and weaknesses.
Corach Rambler
The horse even non-racing fans will be aware of heading into the 2024 Grand National is defending champion Corach Rambler. He burst even more into the public consciousness by finishing third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup last month, but it was his authoritative victory at Aintree last season that confirmed him on the map.
Bigger and better prizes have been targeted throughout the season by Lucinda Russelll’s team but there is no doubt which race will have been most prominent on their radar throughout. Though his mark has been far from minded, a 13lb rise given he is now towards the top of the pile among staying chasers can easily be overcome if in his best form.
The slight worry would be that he actually finished tired in the Gold Cup, perhaps paying for trying to make rapid inroads when staying on towards the final two fences. There will have been more than four weeks in between races for him to recover, but having been laid out since November for Cheltenham, there is more than a small possibility that he left his big race behind.
I Am Maximus
The Irish National hero of 2023 is two years younger than Corach Rambler and arriving here off the back of an easy success in the Grade 3 Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse. That day, I Am Maximus easily conceded 12lb to last year’s Aintree runner-up Vanillier, pulling away for a 14-length victory and the extra mile-and-a-quarter in distance of this marathon handicap should suit him.
Officially, he is 5lb well-in even on his Irish mark after being granted the same rating of 159 as Corach Rambler before he won so easily last time out. This is a horse who has chased home stablemate Galopin Des Champs twice this season, albeit distantly, and is likely a much changed and improved animal to the one who won the Irish equivalent a year ago.
The one big negative against him is his jumping. Although he is still yet to fall over fences, he can be very cumbersome and slow over his obstacles, while he also repeatedly jumps left. The size of the track means that although it is left-handed, there is no advantage to jumping lopsidedly and it may cost him too much ground in a race of this nature.
Vanillier
A flashing home second in this race 12 months previously, Vanillier’s campaign has revolved entirely around another tilt at the Grand National. Conditions runs over hurdles and fences were used to get him match fit earlier in the season, all over distances too short, with his only start in handicap company seeing him trail in 15th of 16 finishers at the Dublin Racing Festival over 2m5f.
As a result, his mark is only 4lb higher than last season’s race, ensuring a 9lb swing at the weights with Corach Rambler. The handicap announcement briefly made him favourite for this year’s running, only for him to be outclassed by I Am Maximus at Fairyhouse.
The handicap is not favourable to him in comparison to that rival from last time out and he is another who has the propensity to belt his fences. He may have been finishing fast last season, but that could also be demonstrative of being outpaced at crucial stages beforehand. His mark may yet be a gift, but the race might not be.
Panda Boy
Martin Brassil sent out Numbersixvalverde to win this in 2026 and his astuteness in terms of aiming his horses has been seen in superb light courtesy of the likes of Fastorslow in recent seasons. Panda Boy, while not a habitual winner, may be next off the conveyor belt.
His early season form, in which he was fourth in a pair of Grade 3s out of his reach, suggests he was being firmly aimed at the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas. Unfortunately, he bumped into Meetingofthewaters, who was simply too well-handicapped, but he is just 2lb above his Irish mark here having been fifth in the Irish National last term.
His strike rate of one win in nine over fences is a bit of a worry, and there is no guarantee he improves sufficiently for the step up in trip. However, he is consistent in staying handicaps and a generally sound conveyance, so it would not be surprising if he ran his race into a place. He still needs one horse to drop out to be guaranteed his place.
Kitty’s Light
British horses have needed to be borderline Grade 1 level, and somehow missed by the handicapper, to even feature in recent years, so Kitty’s Light’s prominence in the betting owes much to the shrewdness of Christian Williams and the ability his eight-year-old possesses.
Kitty’s Light went on a rampage last season, claiming three big handicaps in a row in the Eider Chase, Scottish National and bet365 Gold Cup, the latter two within the space of a week. Those three wins arrived after he has struggled at trips of 3m and below earlier in the season, but thorough staying trips are his bag.
Whether he has enough class to get involved off a mark of 146 is debatable even though he will be running off a low weight. We can probably ignore the rest of his form from this season, which has not been good, as this will have been the only goal that matters, but he nevertheless requires a clear personal best.
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