Every year, millions of people pick their Grand National horse the same way. They scroll down the list of runners, and one name just stops them. This year, for a lot of people, that name is Gorgeous Tom.
The Grand National is not like any other race. On any other Saturday of the year, the people placing bets in Britain and Ireland are, by and large, people who follow racing. They know the form. They have an opinion on the going. They can tell you who trains what and why it matters.
On Grand National day, all that changes. The race pulls in millions of people who will place exactly one bet this year, and the decision they make will have almost nothing to do with the Racing Post.
According to research by Entain, the betting group behind Ladbrokes and Coral, 35 percent of Grand National punters pick their horse based purely on its name. Less than one in three say they actually consider form.
These are not racing fans. They are people who want to be involved in something, to have a horse to shout for, to feel the race rather than just watch it. And when you are picking a horse that way, name is everything.
Tom Has Always Been a Name People Trust
There is something about the name Tom that cuts across generations in a way that few names manage.
It is one of the oldest, consistently popular boys' names in England and Wales, appearing in the top names for baptisms as far back as records go, and sitting comfortably in the top twenty for most of the last century, according to the Office for National Statistics.
It is a name that grandfathers had. That uncles still have. That plenty of young boys have been given in recent years because it is solid, friendly, and carries no baggage.
Gorgeous Tom. You say that name and half the country smiles. It sounds like a nickname someone gave a bloke in the pub forty years ago, and it stuck. And if your dad was a Tom, or your son is a Tom, or you have a brother who has answered to it his whole life, then the decision is made before you have even looked at the odds.
The Names That Will Compete for Attention
Gorgeous Tom will not be alone in catching the eye for sentimental reasons this year.
Nick Rockett will get a wave of support from anyone who has ever known a Nick, which is most of us.
Gerri Colombe sounds exotic and slightly continental, but strip away the French, and there are a lot of Gerry or Jerrys out there who will take it personally if this horse does not run well.
Monty's Star has the kind of name that makes a certain generation of grandfathers sit up straight, as if someone has just called his name across the room. My own Mum’s uncle was called Monty!
Captain Cody is for anyone who has a Cody in the family, a name that had its moment and has stuck around with quiet dignity.
Jordans – or in the case of a boy's name ‘Jordan’ – was enormously popular for about a decade in the nineties and early 2000s, meaning there is now an entire generation of young adults who will back it purely on the basis that it is their name and they have been waiting for this opportunity their whole lives.
Oscars Brother is wonderfully relatable, and half the population either has a brother called Oscar or knows one and will feel obliged to put a fiver on out of loyalty. Anyone remember when Oscar Time was 4th in 2013? Maybe history will repeat itself.
Then there is Johnnywho, who made the cut following the confirmation stage, and is exactly the kind of name that generates a rueful grin from every John, Jonathan, and Johnny in the country.
None of this has anything to do with form. All of it has everything to do with why the Grand National is the race it is.
What Gorgeous Tom Actually Brings to the Race
Here is the part where it gets interesting. Because, unlike a lot of horses that attract popular support purely on the basis of a good name, Gorgeous Tom is actually worth considering on merit, too.
He is trained by Henry de Bromhead, who won this race in 2021 with Minella Times under Rachael Blackmore. De Bromhead does not send horses to Aintree as an afterthought. When he confirmed after the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury last November that Gorgeous Tom was heading for the National, it was a deliberate decision based on a performance that impressed him.
The horse had finished fourth in a field of 24 over three miles and two furlongs, travelling strongly before fading late, and had posted the best figure of his career in doing so.
He is eight years old, which sits comfortably in the age bracket that Grand National winners tend to come from. His weight of 10st 9lb is at the lighter end of the historical sweet spot, which means he will not be fighting the handicapper as well as the fences.
He is Irish-trained, which has been the dominant thread running through National results for the last seven years.
The question marks are real. He has never run at Aintree. The fences there are a different proposition to anything he has encountered before. His most recent run at Leopardstown in March was not his best.
But de Bromhead's post-Newbury assessment was straightforward: the plan was always the National, and that plan has not changed.
The Each-Way Argument
At 25/1, Gorgeous Tom sits in the price range where, historically, the Grand National has been most generous. The majority of winners over the past two decades have come from between 8/1 and 20/1, but the next most fertile territory is exactly where he sits.
A horse at this price, in a field of 34, gets you six places with most bookmakers on each-way terms. That is a lot of race for your money.
Pick him because your dad was called Tom, or your son is, or because the name made you smile when you read the racecard.
Just know that in this case, the name comes attached to a horse with a genuine each-way profile, a trainer who has won the race before, and enough ability to give the people backing him something to shout about as the field turns for home.
The Grand National has always been the people's race. And this year, for a lot of people, their horse has a very familiar name.
