The pick of the prices in the Irish Grand National....

Sunday, 9th April 2023

The pick of the prices in the Irish Grand National….

For some reason Willie Mullins doesn’t have the greatest record in the Irish Grand National….

…. with just a single winner from his 45 qualifying runners over the last two decades….

You can’t win them all – that’s what they say….

But Willie Mullins generally does tend to get there and win them all eventually….

He hadn’t won a Gold Cup until 2019 – and then won two on the bounce and a third last month….

I’m not going to overthink it – I prefer to keep it simple….

Poor record or not, I’m backing the Mullins-trained I AM MAXIMUS for tomorrow’s edition of the Irish Grand National (5.00)….

…. at the general 14s & 12s….

• Plenty in his favour….

Nicky Henderson had the 7yo when he was running over hurdles….

“He'll be a fantastic chaser next season and he's a Graded horse; there's no doubt about that....”

That’s what Henderson told reporters after the horse had won his maiden hurdle race at Newbury in December 2021….

…. and I don’t think Henderson was talking about his hurdling potential….

Henderson never got a chance to play a role in the horse’s chasing future.

Connections shipped the horse out to Mullins ahead of his first chase start in December 2022….

…. since when he’s had four goes for the Irish champion trainer….

…. culminating last time in a career-best effort when stepped up to the 3m trip for the first time at Cheltenham in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Festival….

There’s nothing complicated about this bet….

He’ll get further, he’ll improve for it, he goes on soft ground, he’s trained by the top man, ridden by his number one rider, and he’s handled the track before….

…. plus he only has to carry 11-1 thanks to Royal Pagaille’s attendance on a mark of 160….

…. and if he really is as good as Henderson thought he was….

…. and let’s not forget that on his second run for Mullins he appeared in the same beginner’s chase in which Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs made his chasing debut ….

… then I Am Maximus is still very well handicapped on his mark of 149….

He isn’t Galopin Des Champs. I do know that. But I do think there’s a good chance that he’s a good deal better than we’ve seen to date….

…. and at 14s & 12s I’m prepared to put my money where my mouth is and roll the dice….

• The last word….

That’s all for today….

I’ll be back tomorrow….

Stay tuned.

Against the Crowd