THE Grand National itself has always been a big draw for Irish horses, but the broader Aintree meeting has become more of a focus for our runners recently, with winner totals of nine, 11 and 10 in the last three years.

It was not always that way, Irish-trained horses managing more than eight winners at Aintree just once between 2008 and 2023, and four times in the that period there were either zero or one Irish-trained winner at the meeting.