There are staying chasers who grind, and there are staying chasers who gallop rivals into submission while barely getting out of second gear.
Haiti Couleurs has increasingly looked like the latter, and with Irish and Welsh Grand Nationals already on the shelf and graded form to back it up, the obvious next question is whether Rebecca Curtis’ star can add the 2026 Aintree Grand National to his growing collection.
A French-bred chaser who has been developed steadily by Curtis, he has climbed the ladder the patient way, through staying chases and a grounding campaign that led to a breakthrough Cheltenham Festival success in the National Hunt Chase in 2025.
The real change in how people talked about him came at Fairyhouse. In the 2025 Boylesports Irish Grand National, Haiti Couleurs put up what even neutral observers had to call a tremendous performance, making much of the running under Sean Bowen.
Sent off at odds of 13/2, he travelled like the best horse in the race throughout, and Bowen’s reaction told its own story.
He admitted he felt the horse had been “in second gear the whole way” and “doing a half-speed,” a slightly terrifying thought for anyone trying to beat him over marathon trips in the future.
Adding The Welsh National And Beyond
If Fairyhouse suggested he might be a National horse, Chepstow confirmed it. In the 2025 Welsh Grand National, Haiti Couleurs produced a magnificent front-running display to add that staying crown to his Irish success, making him one of a very small club to complete the double.
Again under Sean Bowen, the eight-year-old set a strong tempo, jumped accurately, and was simply not for catching, winning at around 5-1 and finishing three lengths clear of his nearest pursuer.
Reports from Chepstow described him as the “toast” of the track after that performance, and it was not lost on anyone that this was achieved in testing winter ground over a searching trip.
He later confirmed his class with a Grade 2 Denman Chase success at Newbury, where, despite a few sticky jumps, he pulled out plenty when challenged by high-class rival L’Homme Presse, winning by seven lengths in testing conditions.
He took his chances in the Gold Cup but, for whatever reason, wasn’t able to get into the rhythm of the race and was ultimately pulled up with jockey Sean Bowen unable to offer any explanation for the poor form.
A Serious 2026 Grand National Contender
So why should we be taking Haiti Couleurs very seriously for Aintree 2026?
First, he has already done the two things you absolutely need for a modern Grand National: prove bottomless stamina and show rock-solid jumping in big, competitive handicaps.
Irish and Welsh Grand Nationals are not warm-up acts; they are full-on examinations, and he has passed both at the first attempt.
Second, his run style is exactly what often wins the Grand National nowadays. He travels strongly, sits handy or makes the running, and gets horses under pressure a long way from home.
Third, he is not just a slogger. That high cruising speed Rebecca Curtis talks about means he can hold a handy position even if the race lifts in tempo, and his Denman Chase win shows he can live with proper graded horses at shorter trips than a National marathon.
However, nothing in racing is guaranteed, and Haiti Couleurs is not a slam-dunk for the 2026 Grand National, and he would definitely prefer the ground softer!
Weight will be the first big question. With Irish and Welsh Nationals plus graded wins on his record, he didn’t get any favours from the handicapper, and carrying 11-10 over 4¼ miles is a very different task from defying it at three miles in a Grade 2.
There is also the physical and mental toll of back-to-back hard seasons at the top level. Between Nationals, festival races, and graded chases, this is not a lightly campaigned handicapper who has been hidden away for one big day.
Keeping him sound, fresh, and mentally sharp for April 11th, 2026, will require the same careful handling that has brought him this far.
Yet when you stack the evidence – dual National wins, graded staying form, a high cruising speed, a trainer with a plan, and a jockey who rides him like he is sat on a bottomless engine – Haiti Couleurs looks far too good to ignore as a serious contender for Aintree 2026.
When he lines up, you suspect plenty of us will be claiming we “always knew” he was a Grand National horse; the smart move might be to start paying proper attention now.
BETFRED
