Champion Trainer Willie Mullins dominated the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, recording 10 winners across the week. The Irishman matched his own record for the most winners by a trainer at the meeting.
Mullins’ attention will now turn to the Grand National at Aintree. He has won the world’s most famous steeplechase twice, and he has some strong entries this year as he bids for a hat-trick of wins.
I Am Maximus Leads the Team Across the Irish Sea
I AM MAXIMUS flies home like a SERIOUS horse to win the Randox Grand National!
— Aintree Racecourse (@AintreeRaces) April 13, 2024
The horse they call Moo Moo at home ❤️🤣 pic.twitter.com/6ELFDbZOMH
The highest rated runner in this year’s Grand National is the defending champion, I Am Maximus. Mullins’ chaser won the race by seven lengths in 2024, and he is 7/1 in the horse racing betting to prevail again.
There are just two horses ahead of I Am Maximus in the Grand National odds, with Intense Raffles and Iroko available at 5/1 and 6/1, respectively. If successful, he will become the third horse since 1974 to win the race in back-to-back renewals, replicating what Red Rum (1974) and Tiger Roll (2019) both achieved.
Both of I Am Maximus’ runs this season have come at Grade One level, so he will be eased in grade at Aintree. The nine-year-old is now rated at 167, and a return to the Grand National Course may see him produce his best again.
Nick Rockett Warmed Up for Aintree with Bobbyjo Triumph
Another horse considered one of Mullins’ leading contenders for the Grand National this year is Nick Rockett. The chaser has had an excellent season, with two Grade Three victories going his way in Ireland.
The eight-year-old produced an excellent performance to win the Thyestes Handicap Chase at Gowran Park back in January. He stayed on strongly at the back end of the 3m1f race to showcase his stamina.
Nick Rockett backs up his Thyestes success with a win in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse! pic.twitter.com/1lwIRPSJgm
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) February 22, 2025
Nick Rockett’s most recent win came in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse. That’s a race Mullins often runs his best horses in ahead of the Grand National. His latest contender was involved in a battle with former Irish Grand National winner, Intense Raffles, in the final couple of furlongs, and he won that tussle. Those two horses will renew their rivalry at Aintree.
Meetingofthewaters Now Guaranteed a Run
Only 34 of the current 67 horses with Grand National entries will run in Liverpool in the marathon race. Meetingofthewaters is now guaranteed a place, as he moved up the list following the latest entry stage.
Meetingofthewaters finished seventh in the Grand National in 2024 on his debut there. Under the hands of Danny Mullins, he was disputing the lead up until the fourth last obstacle but then faded in the closing stages of the race.
The handicapper has given Mullins’ runner 1lb less weight this year, and with the experience he now has, a lot will be expected of the eight-year-old in the race. Like I Am Maximus, Meetingofthewaters will carry the silks of owner JP McManus, who has won the contest on three occasions.
This year’s Grand National will come on the third day of the Aintree Festival on Saturday, 5th April.
