Ruby Walsh and AP McCoy disagree on Grand National 1-2-3s after late chan | Racing | Sport
AP McCoy and Ruby Walsh have different picks for the Grand National (Image: ITV Racing)
Ruby Walsh has changed his mind and is no longer backing I Am Maximus to win the Grand National. The two-time winner is instead backing Grangeclare West to triumph, and believes the 2024 winner will finish third a year on from his second-place finish, with Monty’s Star his pick for second.
Walsh recently told the Irish Mirror: “I Am Maximus will be in the frame. I think Oscars Brother will also be in the picture. You have to throw in one at a price? You don’t have to, but I’m going to… Lecky Watson.” However, on ITV Racing’s The Opening Show, he said: “I’m going with Grangeclare West to win the race.”
He continued: “I agree with whoever went for Monty’s Star, I think he’ll run a big race.” Walsh did, though, acknowledge that I Am Maximus ‘will be bang there.’ He added: “I like Gorgeous Tom as well.” The 2000 and 2005 winning jockey then concluded: “I think Henry (de Bromhead) and Willie (Mullins) will dominate it.”
AP McCoy, however, is tipping the former winner to repeat as champion. He said: “I’m going for I Am Maximus to win, I know he was second last year, won the year before.
“I think Panic Attack has a really good chance; she’s had a great year so far. Iroko, I do think he ran a huge race last year, and I can see him running again, and I think Jordans, because Joseph O’Brien trains him, he ran well behind Caldwell Potter here in the Novices’ Chase last year.”
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I Am Maximus won the Grand National in 2024 and finished second behind Nick Rockett last year (Image: Getty)
The jockey-turned-broadcaster Luke Harvey also agreed, saying: “Grangeclare West, I thought he was really unlucky last year, I think he’ll win. Iroko, normally very consistent, he wasn’t very well after his run at Cheltenham. Final Orders I think has got a massive chance, and I Am Maximus, who is the safest bet to finish in the first four.”
McCoy and Walsh, however, both agree about what the Grand National means. The former said: “It is the most exciting day in jump racing, the Grand National, from the jockey’s point of view, it could change someone’s life.
Walsh, speaking about the jockeys, added: “I think they’ll be excited, some will be nervous, some will be feeling a bit of the pressure, and then there’ll be lads riding 100/1 shots that’ll just be delighted to be here.”
Harvey signed off by saying: “It’s obviously one of the best horse races in the world, but it’s one of the best sporting events in the world, people come here because they enjoy sport, enjoy a good atmosphere, and that’s excactly hopefully what they’ll get.”
