Grangeclare West

Where Grangeclare West really comes alive is in the mud. On wet, heavy ground, this horse has won 3 of its 5 races — a 60% record that is frankly extraordinary. Most horses hate the deep stuff; it drains them, slows them, finds them out. Grangeclare West seems to feed off it. That preference for gruelling conditions was on full display at Fairyhouse in February, where jockey Paul Townend settled him confidently in the heavy ground and he won with authority. "He's a brilliant jumper and has been keeping top company," Townend said afterwards, and that assessment rings true. This horse has lined up in top-level company repeatedly and acquitted itself with credit each time.

His run at Aintree — one of jump racing's most demanding courses, with its unique, enormous fences — gave the clearest sense yet of just how good Grangeclare West might be. Carrying 11 stone 8 pounds, which is a serious weight by any measure, jockey Brian Hayes described it as "the race of his life". Hayes had him jumping fluently through the second circuit and sensed a big result was coming, only for a slight error at the final fence to cost the horse momentum and, ultimately, second place. That sort of performance — high weight, huge occasion, almost pulling it off — is the mark of a horse at the very top of its game.

Willie Mullins had been eyeing the Grand National before pivoting to Cheltenham, which tells you something about the ambitions the team holds for this horse. The conversation then shifted to waiting on weights before deciding the next move. At ten years old, with form freshened up by a recent win and a near-miss at Aintree still warm in the memory, Grangeclare West looks like a horse with at least one more big day left in him — ideally on a muddy afternoon somewhere that really tests them.