If you were sketching the backstory for an unlikely Grand National hero, you could do worse than start with Pied Piper.
Bred by the late Queen and originally trained on the Flat by John Gosden, he began life as a well-bred, good-moving juvenile rather than an obvious future Aintree slogger.
He had a solid early career in royal colours before being sold in October 2021 when he crossed the Irish Sea to join Gordon Elliott and reinvent himself as a smart hurdler and, later, a staying chaser.
That journey alone makes him stand out in this year’s National field. Here is a horse who has gone from royal paddocks and Flat maidens to the rough-and-tumble of long-distance handicap chases, and now finds himself in the conversation – even if only whispered in some quarters – for the 2026 Grand National.
From Smooth Hurdler To Stout Chaser
So where did all being for the Queen’s former charge? When he was sent to Ireland in 2022, Elliott wasted little time turning Pied Piper into a high-class jumper.
Over hurdles, he built a notably strong record, winning five of his 14 starts and placing in three others, including third place in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2022, bankrolling well over six figures in prize money.
For most people, he was just another clever handicapper you half‑remember when scrolling through the odds after a quick bizbet login, but his consistency over hurdles was the first real clue that there might be more to come.
The next chapter was always going to be about fences and stamina. Sent over the larger obstacles, Pied Piper made a winning debut in a 2m4f beginners’ chase at Down Royal in the spring of 2025, snapping a long losing run and leading home a treble for Elliott on the day.
From there, the class and distances crept up. His chase CV now reads 12 chase starts, with three wins and multiple runs in deep staying handicaps.
The bare numbers aren’t flashy, but they tell you he’s been campaigned in proper races, often asked to carry weight against seasoned rivals.
What The Numbers Say Right Now
On paper, Pied Piper arrives at Aintree rated 145 over fences and set to carry 10st 3lb, an appealing racing weight in a modern Grand National. He is an eight-year-old, but is being assessed as an older, battle-tested handicapper in most analytical pieces, which fits the profile of a horse with plenty of racing behind him and no shortage of experience.
It’s understandable that many experts have been fairly cool in their early assessments. He is priced at around 100/1 and, despite his years of experience, has form that leaves a lot to be desired. Yet those same reservations are often exactly where value lurks.
Elliott himself has been more positive. Speaking in February, he picked Pied Piper out as an “interesting” contender if he could sneak into the National, pointing out that the handicapper has dropped him to 145 after a spell without a win and that the weight, again, 10st 3lb, looked very workable if he got in.
The tone from the yard was that he was not a headline act, but very much on their Aintree radar.
A Stayer With A Point To Prove
Look closely at his recent campaign, and a picture emerges of a horse who might be better than his recent finishing positions suggest.
Over the past season, he has been running in strong Irish staying handicaps, largely at 3m+, often on good or yielding ground. He hasn’t been racking up wins, but he has been learning his trade in the kind of races that harden a horse for the demands of Aintree’s marathon test.
He is a generally sound if not spectacular jumper. He is also more suited to longer races at more consistent speed rather than short dashes, and in a race where the emphasis is relentlessly on stamina, it is more intriguing than damning.
Why He Might Be The Sleeper In The Field
So why should we be paying more attention to a 100/1 shot who hasn’t won since his beginners’ chase and has a form line that won’t frighten the handicapper?
Start with the man training him. Gordon Elliott has won three Grand Nationals, so when he singles one out as “interesting” for Aintree, it’s rarely by accident.
Next, consider the weight and rating. A mark of 145 and 10st 3lb put Pied Piper in a sweet spot historically, high enough to suggest class, low enough to give him a realistic racing chance against the big guns.
He does need one more horse to defect before he is guaranteed a run, but those rivals squeezed under big weights often need everything to go right. Whereas those lurking in the low 10-stone zone can creep into it late if they jump and stay.
Then there’s his background. This is a horse bred with quality, with the athleticism to win on the Flat at Newmarket and the versatility to become a high-class hurdler.
Horses who start out as neat, nimble types and then grow into staying chasers often take a while to put it all together, especially when they are asked to carry their ability through longer trips.
It is not hard to imagine Pied Piper being one of those who improves again when truly extended over Aintree’s marathon trip.
The Red Flags You Shouldn’t Ignore
Of course, there are reasons he is 100/1 and not 10/1.
The most obvious is simple recent form: he has not been winning. He needs to show form, and his current level is questionable when it comes to whether or not he can make much impact in a race as deep as the National.
His chase record, though experienced, includes more mid-division finishes and no-shows than podiums, and he has fallen and failed to complete on more than one occasion, including a recent chase where he came down in a big-field event.
There is also the question of whether his confidence has been dented by that long spell without a win between his hurdling days and his breakthrough over fences.
A Longshot But Worth A Second Look
Pied Piper will not arrive at Aintree with a fan club the size of Tiger Roll’s or a form line that suggests he is a National banker. He will line up – if he lines up at all – as one of Gordon Elliott’s lesser-talked-about runners, a longshot with a royal backstory, a solid jumping résumé, and a trainer who clearly thinks there is at least a tune worth trying to play.
If you want the safe, obvious route, you will look elsewhere. If you are drawn to lightly weighted staying chasers trained by proven Grand National operators, who have flown under the radar while learning their trade in hard Irish handicaps, then Pied Piper makes a quietly persuasive case.
At 100/1, he is not the finished symphony, but he might yet be the kind of horse who finds his rhythm over four and a bit miles and turns up in the closing stages, playing all the right notes.
