There are 34 horses in this year's Grand National field. Thirty-three of them will get more column inches than Beauport. That might just be why he is worth a second look.
Scroll through any Grand National preview this week and you will find plenty about I Am Maximus, thoughtful pieces on Grangeclare West, perhaps a mention of Panic Attack and Haiti Couleurs as each-way alternatives. Beauport, sitting quietly at 100/1, barely registers. And yet if you were building a list of horses capable of sneaking into the top six on Saturday, his name belongs on it.
Betfred are paying six places each-way on the Grand National. That changes the conversation around horses like this entirely.
He Has Already Done It
The most basic fact about Beauport is one that most punters will not know: he has already run in the Grand National and completed the course.
Last year, trained by Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies and ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies, he lined up at 33/1 in a field of 34 and finished twelfth. Not spectacular, but he was having a fine race for much of the way. He travelled prominently, went second after the twelfth, and was left in the lead at the second Valentines fence. He was still there three from home before the effort caught up with him, weakening before the second last. Ridden with a little more restraint early, he might have had something left when it mattered.
Twelve months on, he is back with a year's worth of experience, a clearer picture of what the race demands, and a few pounds less to carry courtesy of the handicapper.
The Form That Made People Notice
Beauport has not always been overlooked. In November 2024, he won the Berkshire National at Ascot by 31 lengths, a performance that put him on racing's radar briefly before last year's Grand National.
It was a striking, dominant display over three miles and five furlongs, and he was ridden that day by Toby McCain-Mitchell. Six weeks later he went back to Ascot for the Long Walk Hurdle and finished third, beaten just over a length by the winner in a Grade One.
Before that, in March 2024, he won the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter over four miles and two furlongs on heavy ground, with jockey Jordan Nailor completing the race having lost one of his stirrup irons mid-race.
His best form put him in contention with horses operating at the top end of staying handicap chasing. The Berkshire National win in particular was the kind of performance that a good Grand National horse tends to produce at some point in his career.
A Difficult Season in Context
This season has been harder to read. He was pulled up on his reappearance in December 2025 in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot, after which wind surgery was carried out.
He returned in February and finished fourth of five in a Grade Two hurdle at Haydock, beaten around twenty lengths. On the face of it, neither run would encourage you to reach for your betting slip.
But both runs need context. He came back from wind surgery in February, which horses routinely need time to recover from fully. He arrives here with a light preparation, which might not be ideal, but he also arrives fresh in a race that does not always reward horses who have been running hard all season.
The Team Behind Him
The Twiston-Davies yard has won the Grand National twice before, with Earth Summit in 1998 and Bindaree in 2002. He knows what is required, and the fact that Beauport is here reflects a considered judgment that the horse has the profile for the race, even if the current season's form has been complicated.
Sam Twiston-Davies takes the ride again, which matters. He rode Beauport last year around Aintree, knows the horse, and brings that experience to the partnership. He has twice won the Scottish Grand National on Vincente and has been partnering National-type horses his whole career.
The owners, Bryan and Philippa Burrough, have form in this department too. They owned Corbiere, who won the Grand National in 1983.
The Six-Place Case
Beauport is not a realistic win candidate at 100/1. Nobody would argue otherwise. But the Grand National is run over thirty fences across four miles and two furlongs, and a horse can pick up an each-way place in this race without being anywhere near the front.
He stays the trip, he has jumped these fences before, and with Betfred paying six places each-way, a horse capable of finishing in the top six at 100/1 is worth a small interest. Given everything he has shown over a career, that is not beyond him.
BETFRED
