Irish Grand National 2026 tips and preview: Runners, Odds and Billy Grimshaw’s verdict

The feature race of the entire Easter period is of course the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday. As one must suspect on either side of the Irish Sea, there is a strong raiding party from Closutton and with Paul Townend spoiled for choice in terms of who to ride, Billy Grimshaw is in agreement with this era's top jumps jockey in terms of which horse of Willie's has the best chance. Below he makes the case and gives an overall breakdown of how he sees the race unfolding...

It is dangerous in a race as competitive as the Irish Grand National to hone in on just one formline and confidently claim the winner will come from that particular race. However, in all my studying for this contest, two horses have stuck out like a sore thumb to me and for full disclosure, I will be backing both even though I am much sweeter on the shorter priced runner. The race I am so fixated on was a Punchestown beginners' chase in mid February and Emmet Mullins got the better of uncle Willie as Soldier In Milan came home a length and a half in front of KISS WILL.

That looked an above average race for a beginners' chase, with the pair pulling fifteen lengths clear of the horse in third, and I fancy the younger legs of Kiss Will to reverse form over this longer trip, particularly as he will now be in receipt of three pounds rather than racing off levels with his Punchestown conqueror. I am of the opinion that neither of these two horses has much pace when it comes to getting by a stayer, and that is certainly no bad thing when looking for an Irish National winner. Kiss Will was looming ominously to Solder In Milan at Punchestown back in February but a mistake at the second last just knocked him off his stride and he could never get back upsides to outbattle the eventual winner.

Still only six and the baby of this field, along with English raider and current favourite The Jukebox Kid for Ben Pauling, I am confident he will have learned from that run and his solid performance when clearly having a prep run in the Jack Richards at Cheltenham last time out. His jumping was excellent at Prestbury Park and although he only finished fifth that was a fantastic effort over two and a half on decent ground for a horse who is made for this type of marathon. I am fairly sweet on his chances, as is probably obvious, but I will have Solider In Milan as a winner in my own book as I would be kicking myself if I didn't back him and this duo finished 1-2 again.

Paul Townend is quite simply the best in the business right now and it is a massive vote of confidence in Kiss Will that he chooses to ride him over the array of talented individuals he has shunned for Willie Mullins. Of course I am no mind reader but I imagine the ride it'll have been toughest to pass up for Townend will have been on Argento Boy, with Sean O'Keefe surely buzzing to get the chance on board one with obvious claims. A line can be put through his Brown Advisory effort as he had to make a massive move due to poor positioning and then was done for toe on livelier ground than he likes, but if the rain arrives at Fairyhouse he'll probably be the horse I fear most against my two selections given his high class form on soft or heavy. He could have a fair few pounds in hand on this his handicap debut.

Circling back to the aforementioned The Jukebox Kid, I struggled to make a big case against him barring the price. 6/1 looks skinny enough for a British raider, for all Haiti Couleurs pulled it off in epic style for Rebecca Curtis off the front end last season. Ben Pauling has had a breakout season, as has his rider Ben Jones, and this'd be a wonderful late season treat for the pair but I did think there were a handful of the Irish with stronger claims and obviously the lack of travel and more track knowledge from their riders will play a part. With that being said, there is no doubt this horse is a talented animal and he may just prove better than a handicapper, which is what he'll need to be to win this.

Gordon Elliott still leads the Irish trainers' championship race and a win in this contest would go a long way to making him believe he can for the first time be champion in 2026, but for all that he has a lot of entries I was not exactly bowled over with any of their claims. The Enabler is his shortest priced runner but I'd say Search For Glory is probably his most interesting runner. H would surely have been there or thereabouts in the Ultima had he not unseated his rider when travelling well at the last and given the wretched record of Irish horses in that contest, that performance warrants huge respect.

For all there are chances aplenty, however, I kept coming back to Kiss Will due to both his Punchestown and Cheltenham efforts but also his powerful Plumpton win last season over three miles. Yes, that race was hardly a Gold Cup, but the way he improved the further he went was eye-catching looking toward races like this and it'd be no surprise had team Mullins circled this race with red pen in the aftermath of that win, working backwards. I'll be bitterly disappointed barring incident if he is not in the frame so he is my best each-way bet for the 2026 Irish Grand National.