We are fast approaching the time in jumps racing when serious decisions have to be made by connections.
Up and down the land and across the Irish sea, trainers and owners are plotting paths to Aintree, Fairyhouse, Punchestown, and Sandown, all in the hopes of scoring big with the four biggest festivals left in the season.
With Cheltenham now in the rear view mirror, the big question for some owners now is, do you send your horse to the Irish Grand National or the Aintree Grand National?
In 2026, time is not on their side, with both races being run within days of each other. The Irish Grand National takes place in its traditional slot on Easter Monday, which is April 6th, while Aintree beckons those who want to take on 4m2f on Saturday, April 11th.
And the person potentially facing the most difficult decision? That would be Connor King, a young up-and-coming trainer with only two horses in his yard, but one of which happens to be the Irish National favourite in horse racing betting, Oscars Brother.
With options at Aintree and back at Fairyhouse for the Gold Cup as well, he suddenly finds himself at the centre of some very big conversations for a yard that only sent out its first runner in 2024.
From First Runner To Festival Player
Connor King’s training career really starts and ends, for now, with Oscars Brother. King only took out his licence in 2024, and Oscars Brother was his first runner, nearly providing a dream start when just denied at Cork when beaten by Largy Hill in his maiden hurdle.
It did not take long for the trainer’s belief to be rewarded, and the horse has steadily developed into exactly what King always thought he might be – a proper staying chaser.
Last season, Oscars Brother reached a hurdles rating of 135, solid if unspectacular, but the switch to fences has been the making of him.
He has improved race on race over larger obstacles, stringing together a hat‑trick that includes Grade 2 wins in the Florida Pearl Novice Chase at Punchestown and the Ten Up Novice Chase at Navan. That Navan success, achieved from the front under a 5lb penalty and in heavy ground, suggested there was still a fair bit left in the tank.
JP Colours And Big Dreams
When JP McManus stepped in to buy Oscars Brother after his Florida Pearl win in December 2025, it was a clear vote of confidence in the horse’s long‑term potential.
For a small operation in Tipperary, to see their flagbearer suddenly sporting the famous green and gold hoops is both surreal and very handy motivation to keep grafting on cold mornings.
McManus’s team is not in the habit of collecting staying chasers for the sake of it, so his involvement underlines that Oscars Brother is viewed as a horse who can live at Graded and marathon‑handicap level for a while yet.
The 2026 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham was the first big test of that idea, and Oscars Brother did his bit by finishing a highly credible fourth.
He did not manage to dominate in the same way as at Navan, but he proved he could hold his own in a deep Grade 1 and come out of it with his reputation intact. For a yard that still only houses two horses, that’s the kind of “nice problem to have” that most young trainers only daydream about.
Irish National: The Main Mission
All roads now seem to lead to the Irish Grand National over 3m5f at Fairyhouse on April 6, where Oscars Brother heads the early betting. It is a race that rewards stamina, rhythm, and a straightforward attitude, three boxes he has already ticked by making all in strongly run staying chases on testing ground.
Off a mark of 155, and with a racing style that allows him to hold a handy position, he looks tailor‑made for a big handicap where 30 runners will be jostling for space from flagfall.
There are obvious dangers everywhere you look in an 84‑strong entry list, including seasoned Graded performers and a battalion from the Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott powerhouses.
But Oscars Brother brings something different: he is still on the up, comes here with relatively few miles on the clock over fences, and has already shown he stays strongly enough to suggest the extra yardage will be a plus rather than a worry.
If he gets into that familiar jumping rhythm near the front, he is very likely to give his supporters a proper run for their money deep into the straight.
Aintree and Fairyhouse Gold Cup: Tempting Side‑quests
Being favourite for the Irish National would be plenty for most, but Oscars Brother has more on his plate, with entries in both the Aintree Grand National and the Fairyhouse Gold Cup. Around 16/1 for Aintree, he sits in that interesting bracket of “definite player if he takes to the place” without the weight of expectation that stalks the front of the market.
The unknown, of course, is how his bold, attacking style will translate to the unique test of the National fences; if he measures them as sweetly as he has measured the Irish tracks so far, things could get very lively, very quickly.
Back at Fairyhouse, he is also in the Gold Cup on the Sunday, where his early price hovers around 25/1. That race, a high‑class conditions event rather than a handicap, would ask a slightly different question of him, pitting him against established Grade 1 chasers such as Romeo Coolio, Kitzbuhel, and Final Demand, on level or near‑level terms.
Outlook: Reasons To Be Cheerful
Wherever Oscars Brother ends up running over Easter, the story already feels like a win for jump racing. Here is a likeable, improving staying chaser, owned by one of the game’s biggest supporters but trained by a man who is still counting winners in single digits and pulling on his own boots to ride out each morning.
His 2026 Irish Grand National chance looks rock‑solid, his Aintree quote is more than fair for an unexposed stayer, and a Fairyhouse Gold Cup tilt would be a bonus roll of the dice rather than an obligation.
He will not get everything his own way, as big spring races have a habit of being unhelpful like that, but he has earned the right to be spoken of in the same breath as some far more established names.
If Oscars Brother keeps jumping and galloping the way he has so far, there is every chance that Easter 2026 will be remembered as the weekend a two‑horse trainer and his stable star made the big time feel just that bit more human.
