The festive period is littered with racing highlights. Boxing Day’s King George VI Chase at Kempton is the race most commonly associated with Christmas, but not too far behind it is the standout contest of the Welsh racing year.
Stepping into the spotlight on 27th December each year, the Welsh Grand National is among the most coveted staying handicap chases of the season. The trip is 3m6½f for this marathon affair, with 23 fences standing between the field and £170,000 in prize money. Won by future Cheltenham Gold Cup kings Synchronised and Native River, and Aintree Grand National heroes Bindaree and Silver Birch, the Chepstow highlight is one of the biggest betting heats of the winter months.
With the final field confirmed, we have our list of 19 runners and riders set to line up in 2025. Included in that number are several strong Welsh challengers, a couple of runners who are no strangers to Grand National success, and raiders from England and Ireland.
Welsh Grand National: Confirmed Field of Runners and Riders
| Number | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intense Raffles | Bryony Frost | Thomas Gibney |
| 2 | Haiti Couleurs | Sean Bowen | Rebecca Curtis |
| 3 | Mr Vango | Jack Tudor | Mrs Sara V Bradstock |
| 4 | Nassalam | Caoilin Quinn | Gary & Josh Moore |
| 5 | Monbeg Genius | Jonjo O’Neill Jr | Jonjo & A J O’Neill |
| 6 | Rock My Way | Brendan Powell | Joe Tizzard |
| 7 | Tanganyika | Charlie Deutsch | Venetia Williams |
| 8 | Uncle Bert | Sam Twiston-Davies | Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies |
| 9 | O’Connell | Danny McMenamin | Joel Parkinson & Sue Smith |
| 10 | Collectors Item | Kevin Brogan | Jonjo & A J O’Neill |
| 11 | Git Maker | Gavin Sheehan | Jamie Snowden |
| 12 | Deafening Silence | Tristan Durrell | Dan Skelton |
| 13 | Jubilee Express | Kielan Woods | Sam Thomas |
| 14 | Where It All Began | Conor O’Farrell | Gordon Elliott |
| 15 | Livin On Luco | Callum Pritchard | Philip Hobbs & Johnson White |
| 16 | Dom Of Mary | Richie McLernon | James Owen |
| 17 | Hung Jury | Tom Bellamy | Martin Keighley |
| 18 | Beaufort Scale | Paddy Hanlon | Gordon Elliott |
| 19 | Pats Fancy | Jamie Brace | Rebecca Curtis |
Highlights
Sam Thomas recorded a famous success for Wales when saddling Iwilldoit to victory in 2024. Denman’s former jockey, Thomas came close to repeating the trick in 2024 with the Dai Walters-owned Jubilee Express. Having lost out by a length and a half to Val Dancer 12 months ago, the eight-year-old returns for a second crack at the prize. He’s four pounds higher this time around, but officially 2lb well in following a warm-up success in the Welsh Grand National Trial at this track earlier in December. With Kielan Woods in the saddle, Jubilee Express topped the market on Boxing Day.
Colin Tizzard won the Welsh Grand National twice in three years with Native River (2016) and Elegant Escape (2018). Seven years after that most recent success, Colin’s son, Joe Tizzard, aims for the prize with Rock My Way. This seven-year-old has yet to race at Chepstow but has solid form in staying events. In three outings over 3m5f+, he has finished fifth in the Scottish Grand National, second in the National Hunt Challenge Cup, and won the Berkshire National by 11 lengths. He’s up 9lb for that recent Ascot success, but arrives at the top of his game.
The Rebecca Curtis-trained Haiti Couleurs also features prominently in the market, despite a disappointing effort in the Betfair Chase in November. However, the horse appears to have had a legitimate excuse that day and has compelling claims if bouncing back to his best. Having finished four and a half lengths ahead of Rock My Way in the National Hunt Challenge Cup, he followed up with a tough staying success in the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse. He’s 13 pounds higher in the handicap here, but that may not be enough to stop a horse who still has the Cheltenham Gold Cup as a long-term option.
Jamie Snowden’s Git Maker has received solid market support in the lead-up to the race. The son of Saddler Maker is without a win since November 2023, but catches the eye on his only previous outing over 3m6f+. That came in the 2024 Scottish Grand National at Ayr, when finishing third, more than four lengths behind the Willie Mullins-trained Macdermott. He gets in off the same mark of 133 here and should be fit and well following a recent comeback at Lingfield.
If this prize fell to the biggest horse in the race, the giant Mr Vango from the yard of Mrs Sara Bradstock would take top spot on the podium. The nine-year-old has used his huge galloping stride to claim the Devon National, London National, and Midlands Grand National and bids to add to his collection here.
Representing the training team of Joel Parkinson and Sue Smith, O’Connell carries the hopes of Yorkshire. Another who tends to go well when the word “national” features in the race title, he won the Lincolnshire National in December 2024 and added the 2025 edition of the London National on his most recent start. A pound well in on the handicap, he could go close with Danny McMenamin in the saddle.
Thomas Gibney’s 2024 Irish Grand National winner Intense Raffles heads an Irish challenge which also includes the Gordon Elliott duo of Where It All Began and Beaufort Scale. Others to note include Collectors Item, who finished second in the Welsh Grand National Trial, and Deafening Silence, who seeks to add to Dan Skelton’s sequence of big-race wins.
