JP McManus' jockey picks 13-year-old outsider for Irish Grand National ride

JP McManus’s retained jockey has picked a 13-year-old outsider to ride in the Boylesports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday.

Mark Walsh won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March on the McManus-owned Inothewayurthinkin, but has yet to ride the winner of the £428,000 Fairyhouse marathon which his billionaire boss captured with future Grand National winner I Am Maximus in 2023. McManus has seven horses still engaged in the race but Walsh has chosen Any Second Now, who finished runner-up 12 months ago and is a 20-1 chance with the big race sponsor.

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Any Second Now, who was second in the 2022 Grand National at Aintree is trained by Ted Walsh, the father of legendary jockey Ruby Walsh but no relation to Mark Walsh. Ted and Ruby captured the Irish Grand National with Commanche Court in 2000.

Any Second Now has run just twice this season ahead of his bid to become the first 13-year-old to win the race since Overshadow in 1953 and his trainer believes he can go one better than when beaten 1½ lengths by Intense Raffles.

“I love the horse and I’ll be sorry to see him go,” said Walsh speaking exclusively to BoyleSports. “If JP McManus decides he doesn’t want to give him a home, which is very unlikely, he can have one with me!

“He was very unlucky not to win an English National. He was well handicapped the first year when Covid came and closed it down, then a horse fell in front of him the next year and he got back up to be third. He just met a well handicapped horse when second to Noble Yeats the third year.

“He’s certainly not gone. He’s in great nick and I think he’ll run a big race. He’s as good as he was this time last year, he doesn’t know he’s 13. He’s been trained with the race in mind and he had nice runs at Fairyhouse and Naas the last time.

“Mark Walsh has looked after him well and he’s going to ride him again. He could have ridden a couple of others so he must think he has a squeak. If he runs well I’d be delighted, if he wins, I’ll be over the moon. It’s a great race and it would be lovely to have another winner at this stage.”

The trainer continued: “Any more rain that comes between now and the race will help him. He handles any type of ground, but the ground was good and soft last year and a real test of stamina, that saw the best of him and only Intense Raffles was too good for him.”

winner Haiti Couleurs is the 5-1 favourite with BoyleSports from the Willie Mullins-trained High Class Hero an 8-1 shot to seal a hat-trick of National wins for the Closutton maestro following victories in the English and Scottish equivalents this month.