Some huge names have been scratched from the entry list for the 2025 Grand National.
With the Cheltenham Festival now done and dusted, it’s all roads lead to Aintree for the Grand National and we have had some big names scratched from the entry list today.
Last week we saw Galopin Des Champs’ Gold Cup crown taken by the Gavin Cromwell trained Inothewayurthinkin who went as short as 5/2 for the Grand National following his win and you can understand why with the mark he was given.
Today though, connections have decided to sidestep Aintree with the Gold Cup winner and we are much more likely to see him run at Punchestown to cap off a fine season. His age may have something to do with the decision as being just a seven-year-old, connections could now have a Gold Cup horse on their hands for the next few years and it is all about the longevity with him.
Running him in the Grand National so close to Cheltenham may not have been ideal and he will instead have a much deserved break before Punchestown.
He is a remarkable horse really when you look at his resume. His jumping has never been that fluent but he won the Kim Muir in 2024 and only last week at Cheltenham we saw him him jump better for the first time. This enabled him to really show his full ability and he is an exciting horse to go forward with.
He would, of course, have had a huge chance in the Grand National this year off the back of that, but we now have a much more open race and a new favourite off the back of it.
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Which horses have dropped out of the Grand National?
11 horse have been scratched from the Grand National today. Inothewayurthinkin wasn’t the only notable entry among this group as the Gold Cup third, fourth and fifth, Gentlemansgame, Monty’s Star and The Real Whacker also skip Aintree.
It’s not a huge surprise to see these names scratched though as the schedule from the Gold Cup to the Grand National this year is only a three week difference and doesn’t give these athletes a fair recovery time.
This surely has to be looked into next season though as it stops the opportunity of the Gold Cup winner landing the double by backing up in the Grand National and this is a feat that hasn’t been done since Golden Miller all the way back in 1934. You can find more betting trends for the race here.
Perhaps if the Grand National was a week later this time we could have seen the double attempted and Inothewayurthinkin looked very well treated off the back of his Gold Cup win.
His owner JP McManus, however, will have a whole host of other runners in the Grand National this year, but one we won’t see is the 2024 Mares Chase winner Limerick Lace, who has struggled to recapture her best form and didn’t show her true running in last year’s renewal of the National.
We have had 11 scratchings in total and the other names include Ryanair winner Envoi Allen, Galvin, Trelawne, Pinkerton, Git Maker and Gericault Roque but this does open up opportunity for some new contenders in this year’s race.
We will take a look at those in the next article I cover for the final entrants but with the favourite being taken out of the race, it does open up the field a fair amount and Intense Raffles has now been installed as the new favourite at a general price of 7/1 for Thomas Gibney.
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We have discussed already in previous articles that he will have a great chance but JP McManus will still have a very strong squad himself with Iroko and last year’s winner I Am Maximus next in the betting, but also Meetingofthewaters now sneaks in as number 34 so he just adds to the strong hand in those green and gold silks.
I suppose the one notable runner that remains in the Grand National at this stage is another for Gavin Cromwell as the Cross Country Chase winner Stumptown holds his place in the lineup. He was deeply impressive last week and at this point in time he still looks well handicapped and he is starting to prove a popular selection.
He could well be a very strong replacement for the Gold Cup winner. We will go into some of the well fancied horses in the next article for the final entry stage, but we have had some notable movements today and we are one step closer to the big race!
