'He's been laid out for it' - JP McManus' four best chances in the Grand National

‘He’s been laid out for it’ – JP McManus’ four best chances in the Grand National

Liam Bramall

Published: March 20, 2025

Horse racing is in Liam's blood and his biggest passion is jumps racing. He can often be found at his favourite tracks; Chepstow and Cheltenham in the Autumn when the National Hunt action kicks off. In his own words: "I'm often referred to as a walking form book, a trait which comes in handy from time to time. My proudest tipping success to date was landing a whopping 682-1 accumulator at Epsom."

Now that Cheltenham has been and gone, National Hunt racing fans now turn their attention to Aintree. The Grand National takes place next month and leading owner JP McManus has a number of entries. We’ve picked out his four best chances of winning the race for the second consecutive year. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

New customers only. 7 days to place qualifying bet of £10 at 1/1 (2.0) to receive 4 x £10 Free Bets: 1 x £10 football, 1 x £10 horse racing & 2 x £10 Bet Builders. Free Bets cannot be used on e-sports and non-UK/IE horse racing. 7 day expiry. Exclusions apply. Stake not returned. 18+. T&Cs apply.

CLAIM

Iroko

It’s no secret that the Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero-trained seven-year-old has been laid out for this race and you can’t help but feel like connections have been protecting his mark all season. He wasn’t made to work too hard when fourth at Cheltenham in January and it was a better effort when second behind Grey Dawning last time. Noble Yeats won the National as a seven-year-old and Iroko could too.

Iroko

Analysis

null

I Am Maximus

Last year’s winner may find things harder this time around but the handicapper has given him a little bit of a chance here. Winning off a mark of 159 in 2024, he currently finds himself on an 8lb higher mark and it probably should be higher. Willie Mullins’ gelding clearly isn’t out of it and a repeat performance shouldn’t be ruled out.

I Am Maximus

Analysis

null

Perceval Legallois

Gavin Cromwell added the Gold Cup to his CV at Cheltenham this years and it’s only a matter of time until this shrewd operator adds the National to it. It was a wise decision to run him over hurdles last time out as a mark of 153 looks very appealing. Winning a competitive handicap chase at Leopardstown before that, this is a horse on the up.

Perceval Legallois

Analysis

null

Chantry House

You’re likely to find out early on in the race if Chantry House is up for it or not but the 11-year-old is more than capable if on a going day. Nicky Henderson is yet to win the National and this horse ran a great trial when staying on best of all to win at Cheltenham on New Years’ Day. He’s available at massive odds and could well surprise a few.

Chantry House

Analysis

null

If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.

CLAIM

‘He’s been laid out for it’ – JP McManus’ four best chances in the Grand National

Iroko

Iroko

I Am Maximus

I Am Maximus

Perceval Legallois

Perceval Legallois

Chantry House

Chantry House

Related Articles

Free Bets

Top News

'He won a Killarney bumper by 19 lengths' - three ITV outsiders to follow on Saturday

'He's a big player turned out quickly' - 76/1 Kelso horses for courses acca on Saturday