Iroko has perfect profile for Grand National as Gina Bryce makes history

The betting tells you all you really need to know about the 2025 Grand National at Aintree. Any one of at least half a dozen runners could end up favourite by 4pm on Saturday, and at least half of the 34-strong field are on offer at 33-1 or shorter, which in the context of such a competitive race is very much the price of a horse with a realistic chance.

In other words, it is still the race that it was conceived to be almost two centuries ago: a celebration of semi-random uncertainty that even the most serious students of the form book can only ever hope to unravel with a fair slice of luck.

It is also, in a sense, two races in one, with a mixture of experienced, proven stayers with form already in the book that makes them obvious contenders, and a host of rivals at the other end of their chasing careers, with more than enough scope for further improvement to make the most of a relatively light weight.

Several leading names in the betting – including Hyland, Grangeclare West, Senior Chief and Three Card Brag – arrive at Aintree with just the official minimum of six starts in chases needed to qualify for a run. At the other end of the scale in terms of Aintree experience, last year’s winner, I Am Maximus, has an excellent chance to register a repeat success, which would make him the first official top weight to win since Red Rum in 1974.

Intense Raffles brings an Irish Grand National win to the table, as I Am Maximus did last year, while Stumptown has winning form under a big weight in the Cross Country at Cheltenham, which was a recent springboard to Aintree success for the dual winner, Tiger Roll.

Having sifted through the field many times in recent weeks, though, a runner who scores highly in terms of both proven form and potential is Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero’s Iroko. He has just seven starts over fences in the book, and only one win, but his overall career-path is that of a high-class chaser who is building towards a breakout performance.

A Cheltenham festival winner over hurdles, Iroko finished four lengths behind Inothewayurthinkin, this season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, in a Grade One novice event at last year’s National meeting, and ran another high-class performer in Grey Dawning to less than three lengths at Kelso last time out.

Saturday’s race has been his target all season, seven is no longer too young for a National winner, and he has an excellent racing weight of 10st 11lb. At around 9-1, Iroko (4.00) is a very fair price to take the best chance in a Grand National he is ever likely to get.

Aintree 1.20 The form of Gordon Elliott’s stable remains a concern but Timmy Tuesday was a convincing winner on good ground just 19 days ago, posting an impressive winning time in the process. He looks sure to be suited by this step up to three miles and has form behind a subsequent Grade One winner earlier in the season.

Aintree 1.55 Though he lost his unbeaten record, Lulamba posted a new career-best when he was mugged on the line in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham and this move out of juvenile company makes sense with Nicky Henderson’s gelding getting 10lb from the field.

Aintree 2.30 Happygolucky took this race as a seven-year-old for Kim Bailey in 2021 after a big run at Cheltenham and looks ready for a repeat for his new trainer, Mel Rowley – off a 10lb lower mark - having stayed on in eye-catching fashion to finish fourth in the Ultima at the festival last month.

Aintree 3.05 Joseph O’Brien’s Home By The Lee had no luck at all in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, unseating JJ Slevin at the sixth when an opponent fell in front of him. His earlier form with Bob Olinger, the eventual winner of that race, reads well in the context of this contest, however, and he has also shown in the past that a sound surface is not a hindrance.

Bryce makes National history behind mic

The team of commentators for Saturday’s Grand National will include a female race-caller for the first time in 73 years on Saturday, when Gina Bryce, a regular presenter on Sky Sports Racing, will commentate on the action between Valentine’s Brook and the Melling Road crossing as part of Radio 5 Live’s team at Aintree.

Bryce will be part of a four-strong team of commentators on Radio 5 Live, alongside lead commentator John Hunt, who will cover the start and the run from Melling Road to the line on both circuits, and co-commentators Darren Owen and Gary O’Brien.

“Never in a million years did I think I’d get the opportunity to do something like this,” Bryce said on Friday. “It’s a first for me and very exciting, although slightly terrifying as you can imagine.

“I couldn’t be in better hands, as I’ll take over from Darren Owen and Gary O’Brien before passing it on to John Hunt.

The first – and so far only – woman to commentate on the world’s most famous steeplechase was the track’s former owner, Mirabel Topham, in 1952.

Topham appointed herself and a small group of friends to call the race following a dispute with the BBC over copyright issues, and their attempt to describe the action as it happened was widely criticised, with the most notable mistake being a claim that Teal had fallen at the first fence. Neville Crump’s 10-year-old was in fact the eventual winner at odds of 100-7.