Runners, Riders, Odds & Tips

For 2023, the Irish Grand National will be held Monday April 10th at 5pm at Fairyhouse Racecourse. The race is always held on Easter Monday!

Final declarations were announced on Saturday, April 8th 2023 with Royale Pagaille from trainer Venetia Williams heading into the race as the top weight runner on 11-12.

The runners below make up the 28 horses that are officially declared. They are all guaranteed to run in the race and the odds are from Paddy Power who are paying to SIX places on this race.

Ash Tree Meadow and Fakiera are now non runners.

If you fancy a flutter, just click on the horse’s name!

Irish National Runners & Odds

This runners will be guided round the course by jockey (name)

This runners will be guided round the course by jockey (name)

Odds listed on this page are taken from Paddy Power on 09/04/23. Check the odds with your Bookmaker before placing a bet as fluctuations can occur. Full Terms and Conditions for the promotional bet offers can be found on the respective websites – please read them before signing up.

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TRENDS FOR PICKING A WINNER

Who will you be backing in this year’s Irish National? Some people will take a punt on a tip from a friend or look for horse racing betting tips. Others will pick a runner based on the colour of silks worn by the jockey. While more will lump on a horse for no other reason than they like the name of the horse.

Being more strategic about your choice of a horse only involves a little extra work. Study the trends and statistics that have emerged over the last ten years and try to determine patterns that will help whittle down your selections.

Only one winner from the last ten carried more than 11-00 and that was Our Duke in 2017 (11-04). Irish Grand National winners tend to carry less weight with winners generally carrying 10-08 or under.

Six of the last ten winners were 8, 7 or 6 years old. Lord Lariat, for trainer Dermot McLoughlin won the race last year at just 7-years-old. Seven and eight-year-olds tend to win the race more often than any other age group.

Only three winners went off as the favourite from the last ten Irish Grand Nationals. They were Burrows Saint in 2019, General Principle in 2018 and Shutthefrontdoor in 2014. There have also been a few long-shot winners, including Freewheelin Dylan in 2021 (150/1) and Liberty Counsel in 2013 (50/1).

All of the last 10 winners had at least three seasonal runs before going on to win the Fairyhouse spectacular.

Six of the last 10 winners had won in a race longer than 3m in the season they won the Irish Grand National.

Nine of the last 10 winners had not unseated their jockey in the season they won the Irish Grand National.

Thunder and Roses in 2015 was the only winner to have both fallen and unseated in the same season as the National win.

Ideally, as a tip, what you’re looking for is an Irish Grand National 2023 Runner that is carrying 10-08 or less, who is 6,7 or 8 years old.

Favourites only win about 30% of the time so look for those who are priced above 12/1 and who have at least three seasonal runs, with extra consideration for those who have won or placed at 3 miles or more.

RACE FAVOURITE

This year’s race favourite for the Irish Grand National is The Devilscoachman from trainer Noel Meade.

ODDS

On odds of just 8/1, there’s a lot to like about this young chaser. Owned by JP McManus, The Devilscoachman goes into this race ticking a lot of boxes.

ON TREND

He is 7-years old, and goes into this race carrying a winnable weight of 10-13. Has had four runs this season, but fell at Fairyhouse in December. From six chase starts has won three and placed in another two.

GOING CONCERN

If there were any question marks it would be the previous fall at Fairyhouse. Though he followed it up with a win, few Irish Grand National winners have fallen in the same season the won the big race.

IRISH GRAND NATIONAL TOP WEIGHT RUNNER

For 2023 the top weight in the Irish National is Royale Pagaille from trainer Venetia Williams.

Royale Pagaille has been one of the top-weighted horses since the entries for this year's race were announced. And it’s by a long margin with the next heaviest horse, Espanito Bello on just 11-03.

The nine-year-old, who is also entered into the Aintree Grand National, will be partnered with jockey Charlie Deutch and goes into this race having just run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

This will be the horse’s first time running in Ireland, and the Irish National will also be the longest distance the horse has attempted throughout its career at 3m5f.

Careerwise, Royale Pagaille has notched up some decent wins, including the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock last year.

This year has been a quieter affair, with only one run before Cheltenham, as the Gold Cup was clearly the goal.

In a race that doesn’t really favour the heavier-weighted runners, can Royale Pagaille tear up the stats and give Venetia Williams an Irish Grand National win? Time will tell.

For 2023, the Irish Grand National will be held on Monday, April 10th at 5pm at Fairyhouse Racecourse. The race is always held on Easter Monday!

Usually, the Irish National follows the Aintree National with plenty of dual entries, so it’s always interesting to see which way connections will go with race plans.

However, for 2023, there are six declared Irish runners who are also still on the runners list for Aintree. Most notably, that includes Royale Pagaille. The other five dual entries haven’t made the cut for Aintree and include Defi Bleu, Fakiera, Punitive, Gevrey and Milan Native.

Of course, there was no guarantee that they would all actually make the line-up for both, but undoubtedly, some tough decisions had to be made.

Like in Britain, there is an Irish Handicapper, and once the weights are allocated, the process for getting 30 runners to the starting line is very similar.

There are entries, weights, and declaration stages, though all of that is over a much shorter period of time. In fact, there are less than two weeks from the weights to the race.

The final declaration stage for the 2023 Irish Grand National was Saturday, April 8th 2023.

The final line-up of 30 runners with three reserves was announced, and the going has been described as ‘Soft’.

RACE DETAILS

The prize fund for the Irish Grand National is €500,000 which makes it the most valuable jump race in the country. It’s a Grade A race and, similar to its Aintree counterpart, is one of the most prestigious in Ireland.

IRISH & AINTREE NATIONALS

There are a few differences between the Irish and Aintree Grand Nationals. At Fairyhouse, the race is run over a distance of 3m5f (5,834 metres) with 22 fences to be jumped over the course of the race.At Aintree, that distance is increased to just over 4m2f (6,900 meters) with 30 fences to be jumped. A maximum of 40 runners is allowed in the Aintree Grand National with a maximum of 30 in Ireland.

TRENDS

Winners tend to be much younger at Fairyhouse with six and seven-year-olds winning frequently. Burrows Saint was only six when he won it in 2019.At Aintree, the last seven-year-old to win the Grand National was Noble Yeats in 2022 but prior to that, it was Bogskar in 1940, and six-year-olds aren’t even allowed to enter.

History of The Irish Grand National

Almost as old as the Aintree version, the Irish Grand National was established in 1870. Held at Fairyhouse Racecourse, it’s present home, the first renewal was won by a horse called Sir Robert Peel.

The winning connections took home a prize of 167 sovereigns. On the basis that they were 1871 sovereigns, worth £670 each today, the total prize would have been £111,890 in today’s money. So highly valuable but not as much as the £248K that the winner takes home today.

Over the years there have been significant connections with the Aintree Grand National where many of the same horses have won both races. Though none have won both in the same year, the first to complete the double was Ascetic’s Silver, the winner of the UK version in 1906.

More recently this has also been achieved by Rhyme ‘n’ Reason – Irish National in 1985, UK in 1988. Bobbyjo also won in Ireland in 1988 and Aintree in 1989. The last to achieve the double was Numbersixvalverde from trainer Martin Brassil. He won the Irish Grand National in 2005 and the Aintree National in 2006.