Max power for McManus in search of record National triumph

JP McManus has never hidden his love of the Grand National and claiming the outright record for wins in the great race with a fourth success on Saturday would be the icing on the cake following last month’s Gold Cup triumph.

Cheltenham hero Inothewayurthinkin is absent from the Randox-sponsored Aintree spectacular – but there will be a five-star squad carrying the famous green and gold colours, including the Willie Mullins-trained I Am Maximus, who was so brilliant 12 months ago.

Mullins said on Thursday he feels he has the nine-year-old “exactly where I want him” after two moderate runs at Leopardstown so far this season.

And Frank Berry, racing manager to McManus, is happy to have I Am Maximus leading the team: “We’re going there with some really nice horses and we hope to have a bit of luck on the day.

“Things haven’t been as smooth for I Am Maximus this year and there’s been a few little hiccups along the way, which isn’t ideal, but Willie thinks he’s back in good form.

“I’m not sure how he’ll cope with drying ground and he would probably like a bit more juice in the ground, but hopefully he will be all right on the day.

“He couldn’t have done it any better last year, he was very good.”

Mullins also runs Meetingofthewaters, while Gavin Cromwell’s Perceval Legallois is another strongly-fancied Irish raider for McManus following two wins over fences and hurdles this winter.

Berry said of the latter: “We were a little bit disappointed in the autumn, but he turned up trumps at Leopardstown over Christmas and then went back there over hurdles and was very good once again.

“He would maybe like more juice in the ground, but Gavin’s horses are in great form, so he goes there in good order.”

Nicky Henderson’s Chantry House will be a long shot in the McManus silks, but Iroko is among the market leaders for the Cheshire-based team of Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero.

Greenall – son of former Aintree chairman Lord Daresbury, who oversaw the bomb scare National and the void race that never was – commented: “We’d like it a little bit softer, but they’ve done a great job with the ground and it should be perfectly fine.

“Everything has gone well up to this point and it’s very exciting. The plan will be to just get him settled in mid-division and enjoying himself and then take it from there.”

Irish trainers have taken six of the last eight renewals and Cromwell’s Stumptown is vying for favouritism following his impressive cross-country success at the Cheltenham Festival, while stablemate Vanillier was an eyecatching third in that race and seeks to go one better than his 2023 National second.

Cromwell said: “Stumptown seems very well, it’s a quick enough turnaround but he seems very fresh and well.

“He’s been very good this season, the drying ground is a small bit of a concern. It’s going to be a fast pace, we just need him to keep his position and then hopefully he’ll stay well.

“He’s going to love the fences. He loves the cross-country fences so I think it will really bring out the best in him.

“Vanillier ran very well at Cheltenham, again he’s one that may struggle to keep his position as I imagine he’s going to be flat out. He will stay well, so I just hope he doesn’t get too far back.

“Perceval Legallois is coming into it a bit fresher than the other two, he’s never gone further than three miles, but I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.

“He should travel round fine as he has a little bit more pace, he hasn’t been round Aintree but he has seen the fences at home and jumped them fine, so hopefully he will take to it.”

Tom Gibney’s Intense Raffles bids to follow up last year’s Irish Grand National triumph with an even more famous victory for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.

Their racing manager Anthony Bromley said: “Tom has been very happy with his preparation and the horse is relatively unexposed and we hope he is reasonably handicapped.

“We would have liked it to have been proper soft ground rather than watered soft ground, but it is what it is and we couldn’t be happier with the horse at the moment.”

Aintree glory would add another amazing chapter to the Hewick fairytale, with the €850 bargain buy having already earned over £750,000 in prize-money.

Trainer John ‘Shark’ Hanlon said: “There has only been one plan for this year and that plan has been in place for the last six months. The English National is the race we want and, please God, all we ask is a bit of luck now.”