{"id":886478,"date":"2026-04-11T08:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T08:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/886478\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T08:16:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T08:16:13","slug":"jp-mcmanus-set-for-grand-national-history-as-timeform-deliver-top-tips-for-the-big-one-at-aintree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/886478\/","title":{"rendered":"JP McManus set for Grand National history as Timeform deliver top tips for the big one at Aintree"},"content":{"rendered":"

Timeform chiefs reckons the 2026 Grand National <\/a>could be a JP McManus bonanza and history could be made.<\/p>\n

The powerful Irish owner has half-a-dozen runners in the Aintree <\/a>showpiece and the racing experts believe he could sweep the boards.<\/p>\n

Among McManus\u2019s powerful squad is 2024 winner I Am Maximus, who was also runner-up to Nick Rockett in last year\u2019s race which was dominated by horses trained by Willie Mullins.<\/a><\/p>\n

Timeform\u2019s Chief jumps analyst Dan Barber explained how it could be a bit of \u201cMcManus benefit\u201d and chase handicapper Phil Turner agreed as he said: \u201cWillie Mullins saddled five of the first six home in last year\u2019s National and is bidding to become the first trainer since Vincent O\u2019Brien in the mid-1950s to win it three years in a row.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat said, it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise if leading owner JP McManus is the one to create Aintree history this time around.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a start, if his colours are carried to victory again he\u2019ll become the winning-most owner in National history, whilst no owner has ever managed a one-two in the race. McManus himself came closest when Minella Times and Any Second Now were first and third respectively in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cMcManus is due to be represented by no fewer than six horses and you can make a strong case for pretty much all of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, at the time of writing, McManus is responsible for four of the top six in the betting, with current favourite I Am Maximus bidding to bring several strands of history together if he wins.<\/p>\n

\u201cA second Grand National win for I Am Maximus would complete that rare treble for Mullins and provide a record-breaking fourth win for his owner, whilst he\u2019d also become the first since Red Rum in 1977 to both regain his crown and shoulder top weight to victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I Am Maximus ridden by Paul Townend won the 2024 Grand National(Image: Colin Lane\/Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

I Am Maximus is a big player, though the ones with the strongest credentials according to Timeform\u2019s weight-adjusted ratings are Johnnywho and Jagwar, the McManus pair who fought out the finish to the Ultima Handicap Chase.<\/p>\n

Turner said: \u201cThe last three National winners all advertised their claims with wins after the weights were announced in February, on each occasion showing form which put them some way ahead of their Aintree marks.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast month\u2019s Ultima at Cheltenham appeals as the strongest such form this year, with Johnnywho and Jagwar, the two principals from that day, allowed to race in the National off six poubds and five pounds lower marks respectively than they would if the BHA handicapper was allowed to take that Cheltenham form into account.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perceval Legallois, trained by Gavin Cromwell and owned by McManus, is also prominent on Timeform\u2019s ratings and could be the value selection in the race, according to Turner.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cAlthough I Am Maximus seems sure to go close again, it is the outsider of the McManus sextet who appeals as the best bet to me. Perceval Legallois was among the favourites for last year\u2019s race at 10\/1, yet is currently available at over three times those odds.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmittedly he got no further than first Valentine\u2019s that day and has a couple of other high-profile falls on his CV, but we all know that the National fences aren\u2019t anything like as formidable as they once were so he\u2019s well worth another chance, particularly given he\u2019s got plenty of experience in big-field handicaps.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis yard was under a cloud at the time of his reappearance, but there was enough in his performance when an eye-catching fourth behind Heart Wood at Tramore on New Year\u2019s Day to suggest all of his ability is still intact, which clearly makes him interesting off a two pounds lower mark than last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also included among McManus\u2019s team is the novice Oscars Brother, who is one of the least exposed contenders and is making his handicap chase debut, and last year\u2019s fourth Iroko.<\/p>\n

TIMEFORM\u2019S GRAND NATIONAL 1-2-3:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Johnnywho<\/p>\n

2. Jagwar<\/p>\n

3. I Am Maximus<\/p>\n

Best outsider: Perceval Legallois<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Timeform chiefs reckons the 2026 Grand National could be a JP McManus bonanza and history could be made.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":886479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4107],"tags":[1959,287,288,250478,1071,79,37143,16,15],"class_list":["post-886478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-aintree","tag-grand-national","tag-horse-racing","tag-horse-racing-results","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-the-inside-track-horse-racing","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116385086678840084","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=886478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/886479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=886478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=886478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=886478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}