The most exciting jump race off them all, the Grand National, is not just around the corner and so the time has come for Telegraph Sport to help you find a winner.
After the latest round of forfeits, Intense Raffles has been left as the 7/1 favourite for the race following Gavin Cromwell’s decision to withdraw red-hot favourite Inothewayurethinkin following his resounding win in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
That decision has blown the market wide open, with several horses still entered boosting their credentials with good runs at the Cheltenham Festival. Last year’s winner, I Am Maximus, remains on course to defend his crown for Willie Mullins. Click here for a full rundown of runners for this year’s race.
Here, Telegraph Sport lists three horses who should be on your radar ahead of the big race on April 5.
Grand National 2025 tips
Stumptown (Gavin Cromwell) 10/1
If there is one race that has proved a proper testing ground for Grand National success in recent years it has been the Cross Country at Cheltenham. Tiger Roll won the race in 2018 and 2019 and before taking the big prize at Aintree, while the likes of Cause Of Causes and Delta Work have run superbly at Aintree after their Cross Country wins.
This year’s winner Stumptown is therefore of real interest at double-figure odds. He was a resounding winner of the Cross Country, slamming Latenightpass by seven lengths in the manner of a horse who had plenty more to offer at the line. That would have to give confidence that he will relish the extra five furlongs he will face at Aintree.
He’ll undoubtedly get a decent ratings bump for that display so should be well-in at the weights come the Grand National. Keith Donoghue will likely take the ride again for a trainer who is bang in form at the right time of year. There is little not to like about his chances.
Perceval Legallois (Gavin Cromwell) 14/1
Another horse from the Cromwell stable who looks to have been laid out for this race all season. Perceval Legallois first caught the eye winning at the 2023 Dublin Racing Festival when he demolished a competitive handicap hurdle field off what, in hindsight, was a mark that far underestimated his abilities.
Hi switch to chasing has not been without its ups and downs but he this season he has slowly come to the boil, running well in the Kerry National and the Troytown before dotting up in a big-field handicap at Leopardstown over Christmas off a mark of 142. He got an 11lb hike in the weights for his trouble that day but the manner of the success suggested there could be even more to come even off a revised mark.
Switched back to hurdles at this year’s Dublin Racing Festival, he again took down a big handicap in what could prove to be the perfect prep for the Grand National. The only unknown is the trip but he’s bred to stay and has looked strongest at the finish in both wins this season. He has a huge chance.
Nick Rockett (Willie Mullins) 16/1
A Grade 2 winner over hurdles, Nick Rockett might just be the class angle in this year’s Grand National. Winner of the Thyestes at Gowran in January, he followed that up with battling display to beat Grand National favourite Intense Raffles in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairhouse.
On the basis of that performance and the difference in their Grand National weights, it’s easy to see why the market is the way it is but Nick Rockett could well be the graded horse lurking in a handicap in this race. The trip should hold no issues either, as evidenced by his staying-on third in the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown over 3m4½f.
With stablemate I Am Maximus carrying top weight, you can make a case that this is in fact the Wilie Mullins first string for the race. If nothing else, that has to bring him into your punting calculations. Expect his price to tighten up the closer we get to the big race.
