He won the Scottish Grand National at 9/1 under a jockey who was told to put on a female voice before the race.
The form book has been patchy since. But Willie Mullins believes the profile is perfect, and 10st 10lb is exactly the kind of weight the Grand National tends to reward.
Before Harry Cobden got on Captain Cody for the 2025 Scottish Grand National at Ayr, Willie Mullins gave him a rather unusual piece of riding instructions.
The trainer told his jockey that Captain Cody had a habit of winning for female riders.
“I said put on a girly voice,” Mullins told reporters afterward.
Cobden got on, put on whatever voice he needed, and produced a masterclass of patience over four miles to edge out Mullins’s other runner Klarc Kent in a stable one-two.
Captain Cody had won the Scottish Grand National. The Aintree showcase was the obvious next conversation.
A Profile That Fits Like a Glove
Captain Cody arrives at the 2026 Grand National with a profile that reads almost like a checklist for what the race tends to reward.
Eight years old, sitting right in the sweet spot for winners. Carrying 10st 10lb, which is comfortably within the range that has produced the vast majority of Grand National winners over the past twenty years.
Irish-trained. A proven winner over four miles.
Patrick Mullins, speaking during the stable’s pre-National media day in February, was forthright: “The manner that he won the Scottish National was so eye-catching.
“He’s got a perfect profile for the race. He was a little bit disappointing at Christmas and then fell in the Thyestes which is not ideal but with his weight he will be very dangerous.”
The weight point is worth dwelling on. At 10st 10lb, Captain Cody is not being asked to lug around a burden that leaves him fighting the handicapper as well as thirty fences.
Horses who win this race tend to carry workable weights, and his mark gives him every opportunity to race on his own terms rather than grinding through on willpower alone.
What the Scottish National Told Us
The Ayr victory in April 2025 was not just a win at a similar distance to the Grand National. It was won in a manner that suggested the horse has exactly the sort of temperament Aintree demands.
Cobden sat motionless in mid-division for most of the race, allowing the contest to develop, and only asked his question when the race was there to be won. Captain Cody quickened sharply and held off Klarc Kent by a length.
A horse that can produce a finishing kick after four miles of racing is a different proposition from one that merely stays.
Staying is the entry requirement for the Grand National. Finding more at the business end is the difference between running a big race and winning one.
Before that Ayr success, his record over fences had been modest. Placed a few times in decent company, but nothing that shouted potential National winner.
The Scottish National changed the frame entirely: a big-field, marathon handicap on good to soft ground, and he handled it better than any other horse in the race.
The Season Since Has Been Testing
Mullins pointed him at the Fairyhouse Drinmore Novice Chase in November over two miles and four furlongs, a race where he ran third behind the impressive Romeo Coolio.
Then Leopardstown over Christmas, where he ran seventh in the Paddy Power Chase on yielding ground against a big competitive field. Neither performance set the world alight.
The setback that matters most was the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park in January. Sent off as the 7/2 favourite under Paul Townend in one of the traditional Grand National trials, he fell at the fifth fence.
Falling as a hot favourite in a target race is never ideal preparation, and it left connections without the confidence-boosting run they would have wanted.
He ran fifth at Fairyhouse in February on heavy ground, finishing behind Grangeclare West and beaten by around thirty lengths. On the face of it, not inspiring form for a 20/1 Grand National contender.
The counterargument is straightforward. Captain Cody was a different horse at Ayr in April. The runs since have not reproduced that form, but nor have they been on ground or over trips or under circumstances that played to his strengths.
Realistic Grand National Chances
The profile statistics point firmly in his favour. Age, weight, and Irish training are all ticked.
He has won over four miles, which is a requirement only a handful of horses in the field can genuinely satisfy. He has experience in big-field marathon chasing, and he has shown he can quicken under pressure when the race demands it.
Where the profile gets murkier is on recent form. Most Grand National winners have run well within a month or two of the race, finishing in the top four on their most recent start.
The Case for 20/1
There is an argument that Captain Cody’s market price reflects his disappointing winter more than it reflects his ability.
A horse that won the Scottish National by a length under a masterful ride, carrying a light weight that has not significantly changed for the Grand National, is not a horse you can dismiss on the basis of a fall at Gowran and a moderate run on heavy ground in February.
Mullins does not send horses to Aintree without believing they can run. The stable has won this race three times, and they know what it takes.
Patrick Mullins’s assessment that the horse “will be very dangerous” with his weight was not the throwaway remark of an optimistic connection.
At 20/1, Captain Cody represents one of the more intriguing each-way propositions in the field.
The preparation has not been smooth, but the form from Ayr is genuine, the weight is ideal, and a horse who has already shown he can win over this kind of trip will always hold a chance on the day that matters.
Put on any voice you like. He is worth a small interest.
BETFRED
