Rachael Blackmore reveals Grand National betting tip and 10/1 horse she would avoid

Horse racing legend Rachael Blackmore is backing Henry de Bromhead to produce his second Grand National winner in Saturday’s marquee race.

Blackmore wrote her name into the Aintree festival record books five years ago, becoming the first female Grand National winner aboard the De Bromhead-trained Minella Times.

That victory was also De Bromhead’s first triumph in the iconic National Hunt race, but Blackmore believes the Irish trainer could well double that tally at the weekend with 16/1 hopeful Monty’s Star.

The nine-year-old gelding showed promise in the Irish Gold Cup earlier this year, and Blackmore believes he has all the components to thrive in amongst the chaos of a 34-horse Grand National race.

‘Henry has an incredible record bringing his horses to Cheltenham and Aintree, and the year I won it, he had the 1-2 in the race,’ Blackmore, a Betfair ambassador, told Metro.

‘I was third on it two years ago on Minella Indo. So he’s a great record in the race, and I think Monty’s Star has a nice profile coming into it. 

‘I think he’ll enjoy the ground over there. He’s a fantastic jumper, and I think he could run a big race. 

‘Henry doesn’t bring anything over if he doesn’t think they have a big chance, and this horse has grade one form.

‘He was second to Fact To File in Cheltenham. He’s had a little setback after that run, but he seems to be back. He had a good run this year, and I think he’ll enjoy the ground. He’ll enjoy a lot about what the Grand National is about, and I think he could run a big race.’

Should Monty’s Star come out on top, he will have to get the better of the pre-race favourite I Am Maximus, who is bidding for a second Grand National triumph after victory in 2024 and a second-place finish last year.

Blackmore: ‘I can still remember 2021 win like it was yesterday’

‘It does not feel like five years ago, that makes me feel so old,’ Blackmore joked when reminiscing about her 2021 triumph.

‘When you win a Grand National, you feel so part of the race. There have been so many winners since, but it still feels like yesterday.

‘It was an amazing day and I’m glad I still have lots of visual memories and feelings. I can still remember what it felt like, and that’s special. 

‘I really enjoyed the race. He got into such a good rhythm. He jumped really well. We seemed to avoid the trouble that was in front of us. The race just flowed so well. 

‘I can still remember what it felt like to go down over the jumps, and I felt like I was meeting them all on a good stride. Those kinds of memories, those flashes of just what it was like to be in the race, I can still remember those, and they’re just great.’

‘I think he has got an extremely good record over there, obviously,’ she said of the favourite. Paul [Townend] knows how to get the best out of him, and if he can get a bit of luck going around, I think he’ll be bang there again.’

Asked who else could be in the running, Blackmore added: ‘I think Grangeclare West is in a similar boat. He ran fantastically last year.

‘He made a little mistake at the last, and that just cost him a bit of momentum.

‘In the manner in which Nick Rockett won, I don’t know if he’d have been able to get past him, but he’s coming into the race after winning the same race that Nick Rockett won last year before he ran, so he’s had a nice prep for the race, and I think he goes there with his chance.’

Blackmore, though, would not be lining up to put her money on Iroko, who has drifted down the odds list to 10/1, having been the ante-post favourite for the race only a few months ago.

‘He’s in the right and they wouldn’t be running him if they didn’t think he was going to have his chance,’ she said. ‘But he’s going to have to show a bit more, I think, to really contend.’

Given the big field, the huge fences and distance of well over four miles, predicting a winner at the Grand National can always prove a difficult task, and Blackmore encouraged first-time punters to lean into the intangibles for a race of this nature.

‘For the Grand National, it’s just so different,’ she insisted. ‘I think you’re as well off picking a horse that just has something about it that you like, you know what I mean?

‘I think if you’re at the races, then you’re seeing what horses are looking relaxed going around the parade ring, taking it all in and not getting too hot and bothered.

‘But the National is just a hard one to nail anything down to, so pick someone you want to cheer on. Pick someone you want to win.’

Rachael Blackmore was speaking ahead of the Aintree Grand National Festival, play different at the Grand National this year with Betfair.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

MORE: Grand National 2026 sweepstake kit: Download your free pack to print at home

MORE: Jockey handed ban for ‘despicable’ treatment of exhausted horse during race

MORE: Cheltenham legend Envoi Allen dies moments after final ever race at Gold Cup