The jumps racing season in the United Kingdom and Ireland might be reaching its thrilling conclusion, but there are still major races to come for those looking for a horse racing bet before we make way for the flat racing season. That includes at Fairyhouse Racecourse in County Meath, where another field of Irish Grand National runners will be looking to make history on April 21.
It’s not often that horses from the earlier Grand National itself head to Fairyhouse, but the Irish version can be a good indication for Aintree in 12 months—with I Am Maximus winning this contest in 2023 before landing the Aintree edition in 2024, while this year’s ante-post favourite Intense Raffles reigned victorious here last year too.
Without further ado, let’s assess the market leaders for the 2025 Irish Grand National.
Haiti Couleurs
Haiti Couleurs has been a top performer for Rebecca Curtis this campaign, with three wins in five starts to date.
The biggest of those came at the Cheltenham Festival when the eight-year-old beat Rock My World by over four lengths in the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase.
That convincing success at Prestbury Park was over a similar distance to the Irish Grand National, which is notably shorter than its Aintree counterpart at three miles and five furlongs.
That could play massively in Haiti Couleurs’ favour should the horse’s connections and Curtis opt to send him over to Fairyhouse for a race that hasn’t been won by the Brits since 1997.
Now Is The Hour
The chief Irish danger is Now Is The Hour for in-form trainer Gavin Cromwell, who recently won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and holds a strong hand in the Aintree Grand National.
A winner at this course over hurdles last January and a commanding Grade 2 scorer over the smaller obstacles at Haydock the following month, the eight-year-old is yet to get off the mark over fences.
He showed gradual improvement in his first three starts of the season, finishing just four lengths behind Three Card Brag in fourth at Navan in a Beginners Chase at the start of the season.
Now Is The Hour was just two lengths down in second when falling at the second in the National Hunt Challenge Cup at Cheltenham and could have potentially challenged Haiti Couleurs.
His Irish Grand National bid could depend on how he recovers from that nasty tumble at Prestbury Park last time out.
Johnnywho
A consistent performer for joint-trainers Jonjo and AJ O’Neill this season, Johnnywho is often thereabouts in the iconic green and gold silks of JP McManus.
A winner on seasonal reappearance at Carlisle, the eight-year-old was third three times on the bounce at Grade 2 level at Newbury, Ascot and Windsor.
He was then stepped back down in class for the Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase at Cheltenham but went down by a neck to Daily Present after keeping on towards the finish.
The manner in which Johnnywho stayed on in that three-mile and two-furlong contest suggests that he should like this further step up in trip, and Jonjo O’Neill has won this race twice.
