Emmet Mullins

Noble Yeats (11st 11lb)

I can’t complain with a rating of 166. It’s 19lbs more than last year which will be a big ask but he seems to have progressed well this year and we know he takes to the fences. It’s horses for courses and, fingers crossed, he can put up a bold show.

The Shunter (10st 11lb)

That’s (weight) about right. He’s still not qualified, I think, on the distance, so potentially he might have an entry next weekend. I have two or three races earmarked before the deadline and, fingers crossed, I pick the right one and get him qualified. The intention will be to take his place then if he gets qualified.

Gordon Elliot

Conflated (11st 12lb)

Conflated has won two Grade 1 chases at Leopardstown including last year’s Irish Gold Cup and we knew he would be close to top weight or have top weight. He will go to Cheltenham first for the Gold Cup and we will see from there whether he will be one for the Grand National this season or next season. He would be a very classy horse to have in the race. I could see him being a horse for the National but it might be a year too early to run him in the race.

Galvin (11st 11lb)

Galvin started off the season very well winning a Grade 3 at Punchestown but his form has just tapered off a bit. He has just had a little procedure done on his back and he is back working well.

“The plan is to run him in the Cross Country race at Cheltenham then on to the National. We sort of thought last season that he could be one for the National as we thought he was probably just lacking a gear for races like the Gold Cup and those sort of Grade 1 races. He seems in good form and we are looking forward to running him in the National. I think he will be fine over the fences.

Fury Road (11st 6lb)

He will probably be a doubtful runner, I would say, at the moment. We will probably just go for the Ryanair and see after that. If I was a betting man, I’d say he might not go for it this season but we will keep all options open. He would definitely have a nice weight for the race and he ran well at Leopardstown the last day.

Delta Work (11st 4lb)

This has been the plan all season. He has a nice weight for the race and I’m happy with that. We just switched him back to hurdles on his last start to sharpen him up a bit as he had gone a little bit rusty. It was a race we had run Tiger Roll in before he went to Cheltenham and then on to Aintree. I thought he ran very well in the National last season behind Noble Yeats. He got a little bit far back early on and he had lots to do. Having had that experience over the fences we go back there with plenty of confidence and we are looking forward to it.

Coko Beach (11st)

It was a great run to win the Grand National Trial at Punchestown on Sunday. He jumps great and he enjoyed the ground. He will definitely run in the race. I thought it was a good run in the race last year when he finished eighth and he is another we are looking forward to taking back over again.

Pencilfulloflead (10st 12lb)

He is a good horse and has a lovely weight on his back. He ran very well in the Thyestes the last day. He is good now, but we just had a few issues with him early on. He is sound now and is in good form. He is on the right side of the 11 stone mark and he is exactly in the sort of place where we want to be in the race. He should enjoy a test like this.

Escaria Ten (10st 10lb)

He is not a definite runner and we will have a chat with the owners to see how we are. He was well thought of for the race last season and he travelled well for a long way but he simply didn’t get home from the second last. He has a nice weight on his back with 10st 10lb so we won’t rule anything out.

Farclas (10st 10lb)

He ran well in the race in 2021 when he finished fifth. The plan was to go there again last year but he got a little setback. He has a lovely weight on his back and all being well he will go back there this year.

Ash Tree Meadow (10st 4lb)

He probably won’t run in it this year and instead head for the Irish Grand National. He does run well fresh. He is still a novice over fences though and I would say it is more than likely we will see him in the race in 12 months’ time.

Battleoverdoyen (10st 4lb)

We will have a roll of the dice in the race with him. He has been a great horse for the yard over the years and he always gives his all and the plan is to go to the National. He was a Grade 1 horse back in the day. He jumps very well so he should give a good account of himself.

Death Duty (10st)

Death Duty ran a great race in the Grand National Trial at Punchestown on Sunday. For him the race would suit him if he got in off a low weight. He still shows plenty of life at home.

Dunboyne (10st)

He put up a great run in the Thyestes and he was only beaten a head. Hopefully he might sneak in. I think the National is a race that is made for him. He could be one that could creep into the places if he is fortunate enough to get in the race.

Patrick Mullins (Assistant trainer to Willie Mullins)

Capodanno (11st 5lb)

That is definitely a very workable weight. His form at Punchestown, when he beat Lifetime Ambition and Fury Road, in the Grade 1 looks very good. The fact that he had a little setback at the start of theseason and hasn’t got to improve his rating might work for him. I think that is a mark he could be competitive off.

Franco De Port (11st 3lb)

He could definitely have a live each-way chance. He stays very well and he should be good at jumping those types of fences. Auteuil has been his main aim but timing-wise, the Grand National works quite well with that. He probably needs extreme distances to bring out the best of his ability even though he won a two-mile novice chaser when he was younger, now he just prefers going a lot further.

Carefully Selected (11st 1lb)

He could be a fascinating contender. He is 10, so he is quite old, but he is fairly lightly-raced. He is a very old-fashioned horse and he almost looks like a dinosaur. I’d imagine he could be one of our leading fancies. He just had lots of small niggly problems, but you get that with those big heavy horses and he has the ability to make it worth the wait.

Gaillard Du Mesnil (11st)

He could be tailor-made for this as he ran very well in the Irish Grand National last year. He is obviously a high-class horse that has got plenty of Grade 1 form. He stays very well and has plenty of experience.

Burrows Saint (10st 12lb)

The Topham would be an option for him as well so we will see which route we are going nearer the time. Hopefully he can get a bit further than last year if he runs in the National as he didn’t complete the race last year. Maybe as an older horse he will stay better, but we will definitely consider the Topham as well. He is not a soft ground horse. He needs good ground and he wears a tongue strap. He needs to be kept fresh for the spring.

Mr Incredible (10st 4lb)

He is a horse with a lot of ability. He ran a really good race in the Classic Chase at Warwick. He jumped well and stayed well. He did everything perfectly. He looks an ideal National horse and looks like he could be unexposed.

Recite A Prayer (10st 1lbs)

He got a short break after his last run and he is back in now. He has continually surprised and has some good form from some of those big handicap chases in Ireland when he is usually carrying high weights. If he could get in here carrying a low weight that would be a big advantage. He finished 12th in the Becher so he has had a run around the track on ground that would have been too soft for him so that will work in his favour as well.

Captain Kangaroo (9st 8lbs)

He won the Cork National very well but just seems to have lost his confidence a little bit now. He will need to brush up his jumping before he goes to Aintree if he did manage to get in, but that is probably unlikely.

Henry de Bromhead

Envoi Allen (11st 8lbs)

Chris’s Dream (11st)

Envoi Allen is in the Ryanair. We’re not sure yet - we’ll see. We haven’t firmed up anything yet. Chris’s Dream is going for the Festival Hunters’ Chase and we’ll see from there.

Ain’t That A Shame (10st 5lbs)

That seems fair enough for Ain’t That A Shame. I’d say we’ll look to get another run in – there are a couple of options or he might just go straight there.

Gin On Lime (10st 4lbs)

Gin On Lime’s weight is in and around her mark here. I’d say the Cross Country and then go to Aintree.

Peter Fahey

The Big Dog (11st 5lb)

He’s coming into it with a lot to recommend him and I think it’s the ideal race for him. It’s kind of been the plan all year and it’s nice to have a horse going over for it. Hopefully he takes to the fences fairly well, but it’s the type of race where you don’t know until you try. You’ve just got to go over and see where you are after the first couple of fences but I think he’ll take to it well. He’s not a slow horse so it should be in his comfort zone, especially if he can be quick over the first couple of fences and get himself into a nice position.

Kate Harrington

Lifetime Ambition (11st 3lb)

We’ll see where we do go with him. He’s only an eight-year-old but at the moment it looks a nice opportunity. He jumped round the fences very, very well in the autumn. Magic of Light was amazing and it was just unfortunate that she bumped into the likes of Tiger Roll but she took to the Aintree fences and we know Lifetime Ambition jumps them very, very well. It looks a nice enough mark and we’ll be hopeful that if we do go there he can run well.

Martin Brassil

Longhouse Poet (11st)

I think if you’re anywhere around 10st 10lb to 11st 2 or 3lb then you have a reasonable weight. There are more horses winning with over 11st than there used to be. He’s going to run this week in the Bobbyjo (Chase). We’ll be hopeful. We’ll see what the ground is like but he seems in good form. He’s doing plenty of work and doing everything we want him to.

John “Shark” Hanlon

Hewick (11st 12lb)

Hewick has a big weight, but he’s used to carrying a big weight. What can we do? There isn’t anything we can do about it. When they’re good they get those weights and that’s it. He gave a stone-and-a-half to everything in Listowel that was going to beat him so I don’t see why we wouldn’t go again.

Cape Gentleman (10st 8lb)

That’s lovely, I’m very happy with that. I’m delighted with that weight – he’ll think he is loose.

Ted Walsh

Any Second Now (11st 12lb)

All I can say is that I know he’s not Red Rum, I know he’s not a Crisp and he’s not a L’Escargot, so make your own mind up. I’m absolutely shocked that he has top weight. He goes there in as good form as he did last year. He is in as good nick as he was last year but he’s got top weight so make your own mind up. I think he’d have to be an exceptional horse to win it with top weight.

Dermot McLoughlin

Lord Lariat (10st 5lbs)

That’s good going. You have to be happy with that, only needing five to come out to get a run in the race. We’re very happy with him. We gave him a run at Fairyhouse in early January on ground he wouldn’t like just to give him a run. He carried plenty of weight that day and he ran a grand race down to the second last and then got a bit tired. I’m going to run him in a fortnight’s time in a three-mile handicap hurdle in Leopardstown I’d say. He’s very well handicapped in hurdles.