Top names heading for BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse
Thursday, 07 March 2024
The Tom Gibney-trained Intense Raffles could bid to extend his winning run at Fairyhouse in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday, April 1.
This year will see us celebrate our tenth year as sponsor of the greatest race in the Irish National Hunt calendar and we look excitedly ahead once more to what will surely be a fiercely competitive race for the BoyleSports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday
The entries for this year’s BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday, April 1 have been revealed and Willie Mullins holds a strong hand with 14 possible runners. They include previous Cheltenham winners Monkfish and Stattler, and a leading fancy for next week’s Festival, Embassy Gardens.
A total of 64 horses have been entered for Ireland’s richest jumps race and the weights for the historic €500,000 handicap chase will be announced on Tuesday, March 19.
Mullins, who recorded his second win in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National with I Am Maximus last year, also counts his Thyestes Chase runner-up Glengouly, James Du Berlais, Minella Cocooner, Mr Incredible and We’llhavewan on his team and only Gordon Elliott has entered more horses.
Elliott’s 19 entries include last year’s runner-up Gevrey, Galway Plate winner Ash Tree Meadow, Favori De Champdou, Minella Crooner, Salvador Ziggy, Three Card Brag and Where It All Began.
On the back of two very taking Fairyhouse successes, the exciting Intense Raffles has been entered by Tom Gibney who struck with Lion Na Bearnai in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National in 2012. Velvet Elvis is another two-time Fairyhouse winner in the race and he’s one of six hopes for trainer Gavin Cromwell who has also entered Inothewayurthinkin and recent winners Hartur D’arc and Limerick Lace.
Angels Dawn could have another tilt at the race after finishing sixth a year ago on the back of her Cheltenham Festival victory for Sam Curling. The Henry de Bromhead-trained Amirite was sent off as the favourite for the 2023 renewal and his trainer has also entered Senior Chief and Eklat De Rire this time.
The Emmet Mullins-trained Corbetts Cross is certainly an entry to note along with the likes of Ted Walsh’s Any Second Now, Martin Brassil’s Desertmore House and two that look set to figure a little further down in the weights, Digby, trained by back-to-back BoyleSports Irish Grand National winner Dermot McLoughlin and Karl Thornton’s Where’s Frankie, already a four-time winner at Fairyhouse and successful again at Leopardstown only four days ago. The seven-time winner Sam Brown might yet represent trainer Anthony Honeyball.
The weights for this year’s renewal will be released on Tuesday, March 19 at 11am to allow the Irish handicapper to take into account all the performances from next week’s Cheltenham festival, which could see horses both rise and fall in the weights based on their performances.
“We are delighted with the quality, depth and range of entries for this year’s BoyleSports Irish Grand National. It is great to see some of the Fairyhouse favourites from this year, Where’s Frankie and Intense Raffles representing local trainers Karl Thornton and Tom Gibney among the 64 entries. We are busy preparing for this year’s renewal on April 1”, said Peter Roe, General Manger of Fairyhouse Racecourse.
Sharon McHugh, Head of Communications and Sponsorship at BoyleSports, added: “This year will see us celebrate our tenth year as sponsor of the greatest race in the Irish National Hunt calendar and we look excitedly ahead once more to what will surely be a fiercely competitive race for the BoyleSports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday".
“It’s great to see such a fantastic breadth of entries, but as we say every year, despite the abundance of submissions from big trainers like Gordon and Willie, this is a race that can throw up so many surprises on the day. We look forward to seeing how it all unfolds over the coming weeks.”
Click here to see the entries for the 2024 BoyleSports Irish Grand National
A total of 64 horses have been entered for Ireland’s richest jumps race and the weights for the historic €500,000 handicap chase will be announced on Tuesday, March 19.
Mullins, who recorded his second win in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National with I Am Maximus last year, also counts his Thyestes Chase runner-up Glengouly, James Du Berlais, Minella Cocooner, Mr Incredible and We’llhavewan on his team and only Gordon Elliott has entered more horses.
Elliott’s 19 entries include last year’s runner-up Gevrey, Galway Plate winner Ash Tree Meadow, Favori De Champdou, Minella Crooner, Salvador Ziggy, Three Card Brag and Where It All Began.
On the back of two very taking Fairyhouse successes, the exciting Intense Raffles has been entered by Tom Gibney who struck with Lion Na Bearnai in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National in 2012. Velvet Elvis is another two-time Fairyhouse winner in the race and he’s one of six hopes for trainer Gavin Cromwell who has also entered Inothewayurthinkin and recent winners Hartur D’arc and Limerick Lace.
Angels Dawn could have another tilt at the race after finishing sixth a year ago on the back of her Cheltenham Festival victory for Sam Curling. The Henry de Bromhead-trained Amirite was sent off as the favourite for the 2023 renewal and his trainer has also entered Senior Chief and Eklat De Rire this time.
The Emmet Mullins-trained Corbetts Cross is certainly an entry to note along with the likes of Ted Walsh’s Any Second Now, Martin Brassil’s Desertmore House and two that look set to figure a little further down in the weights, Digby, trained by back-to-back BoyleSports Irish Grand National winner Dermot McLoughlin and Karl Thornton’s Where’s Frankie, already a four-time winner at Fairyhouse and successful again at Leopardstown only four days ago. The seven-time winner Sam Brown might yet represent trainer Anthony Honeyball.
The weights for this year’s renewal will be released on Tuesday, March 19 at 11am to allow the Irish handicapper to take into account all the performances from next week’s Cheltenham festival, which could see horses both rise and fall in the weights based on their performances.
“We are delighted with the quality, depth and range of entries for this year’s BoyleSports Irish Grand National. It is great to see some of the Fairyhouse favourites from this year, Where’s Frankie and Intense Raffles representing local trainers Karl Thornton and Tom Gibney among the 64 entries. We are busy preparing for this year’s renewal on April 1”, said Peter Roe, General Manger of Fairyhouse Racecourse.
Sharon McHugh, Head of Communications and Sponsorship at BoyleSports, added: “This year will see us celebrate our tenth year as sponsor of the greatest race in the Irish National Hunt calendar and we look excitedly ahead once more to what will surely be a fiercely competitive race for the BoyleSports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday".
“It’s great to see such a fantastic breadth of entries, but as we say every year, despite the abundance of submissions from big trainers like Gordon and Willie, this is a race that can throw up so many surprises on the day. We look forward to seeing how it all unfolds over the coming weeks.”
Click here to see the entries for the 2024 BoyleSports Irish Grand National