If you are looking for a Grand National runner who still feels a touch under the radar, Quai De Bourbon is very much your horse.
A French-bred seven-year-old in the care of Willie Mullins and owned by Gigginstown House Stud, he has the profile of a slow-burner rather than an overnight sensation, but that might be exactly what you want for Aintree on 11 April.
He began life in France, where he had a couple of runs over hurdles before Gigginstown and Mullins saw enough to bring him to Closutton, and that is where the story really starts to get interesting.
Once switched to Ireland for the 2023–24 season, he quickly made up for lost time, rattling through four seasonal races over hurdles, winning three of them.
He also took a significant leap into the deep end at Cheltenham, finishing third in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle.
Taking To Fences
He made his debut over fences at Leopardstown over 2m5f in December 2024, finishing third in a small but quality field on good to yielding ground, but then headed to Gowran Park a month later, in January 2025, where he got into a good rhythm and duly won the race.
The Brown Advisory Novices Chase at Cheltenham again asked a tougher question in March 2025, when he lined up in a top-class 3m Grade 1 novice chase and got no further than four out, unseating after a bad mistake. The race was won by Lecky Watson, also a Grand National runner in 2026.
Then came the Mildmay at Aintree, where he was brought down, so a few weeks later, he was off to Fairyhouse, finishing third behind Haiti Couleurs in the Irish Grand National.
Fast forward to this season, and it has not been a straight-line rise, which partly explains his current mid-range Grand National quote of around 25/1, down from 33/1. He has mixed a good effort with a couple of “hmm” runs that will divide opinion.
Last time out, in March 2026, he finished third in a Listed chase at Leopardstown under Paul Townend. While not a headline-grabbing win, it was a solid placing at a good track.
On the flip side, he has also pulled up twice this season, first at Navan and then at Gowran Park. That has fuelled doubts for some punters about whether he is quite the finished article at this level just yet.
But Mullins has not been shy about running him in hot company, and the overall pattern is of a horse still putting the pieces together rather than one hitting a ceiling.
Does He Fit The Grand National Brief?
Let’s start with the basics: he is a seven-year-old, French-bred stayer with proven form at three miles and beyond, and he has already handled the chaos of a big-field Irish National.
He stays, he travels, and he has experience of deep ground and long distances, which are often deciding factors at Aintree, even with the modern, safer fences.
His weight looks workable. The handicapper has given him 10st 9lb, which puts him towards the lower-middle of the weights among Mullins’ strong squad and leaves plenty of scope for improvement from his current official marks.
Then there is the stable context. Mullins comes into Aintree hunting a third straight Grand National after I Am Maximus in 2024 and Nick Rockett in 2025, and he could have up to nine runners this time around.
But that can be a positive. In recent years, “second string” Mullins runners have had a habit of outrunning their odds when dropped into big staying handicaps, helped by the fact that the pressure of expectation tends to sit elsewhere in the yard.
The Case Against
Of course, there are reasons he is 33/1 rather than 6/1. His jumping, while mostly sound, has had the odd hairy moment, notably his unseat at Cheltenham and the pulled-up run at Gowran.
Aintree’s revamped fences are kinder than in decades past, but they still ask repeated technical questions over 30 obstacles, and you would rather come in with a profile of relentless neatness.
There is also the question of whether he has a truly explosive piece of form yet. His Irish Grand National third is a proper badge of honour and probably the line that gets most attention from those tipping him at prices, but he has not yet bagged the sort of graded staying chase that indicates he could excel in the Grand National.
Then there is the simple stable hierarchy. With I Am Maximus topping the weights and market, and strong claims also being made for the likes of Nick Rockett and Grangeclare West, it is possible that jockey bookings, race tactics, and stable priority will tilt slightly away from Quai De Bourbon. In a race where tiny margins matter, that could be a factor.
Does Quai De Bourbon Have A Chance?
All that said, horses like Quai De Bourbon are exactly where value often hides in a Grand National.
He has already proved he stays an Irish National trip, he is in the hands of the most powerful jumps yard in Europe, and he carries a very manageable 10st 9lb in a race his trainer has essentially turned into a project in recent years.
His form figures may not make social‑media highlight reels, but the underlying profile is quietly compelling.
At 25/1, you are not buying perfection; you are buying potential. If he can keep the mistakes out of his game, settle into that long Aintree rhythm, and channel the staying power he showed at Fairyhouse, it would not be a shock to see Quai De Bourbon looming large over the last two fences.
In a year when the spotlight is burning on his more illustrious stablemates, he looks exactly the sort of horse who could sneak into the frame, and maybe, just maybe, give Closutton its next Grand National star.
BETFRED
