The Coral Welsh Grand National 2025 at Chepstow remains one of the most demanding staying chases of the season, and this year’s renewal looks typically attritional with 19 runners set to slog it out over 3m6½f.
A big field, traditionally testing ground, and a searching trip mean this is rarely won by anything other than a thorough stayer with a bit of grit about them.
This year’s race carries £170,000 in guaranteed prize money, with almost £97,000 to the winner, so connections have understandably aimed some serious staying chasers at Chepstow.
The handicap is framed with a ceiling of 12st and a minimum of 10st 2lb, headed by Intense Raffles on a mark of 155 after some high-level form in European staying chases.
Chepstow’s Welsh National track is a relentless stamina test rather than a speed contest, and recent runnings have often been decided from some way out as the field thins dramatically turning for home.
Several of today’s contenders bring strong form from long-distance handicaps at Aintree, Ayr, Newcastle, and Haydock, suggesting the form lines should knit together quite neatly here.
Welsh Grand National 2025 Odds
Before we look at each of the runners who top the betting markets, let's get an overall picture of the odds.
| Horse | Odds |
|---|---|
| Jubilee Express | 5/1 |
| Rock My Way | 11/2 |
| Git Maker | 13/2 |
| Mr Vango | 7/1 |
| O'Connell | 7/1 |
| Haiti Couleurs | 17/2 |
| Collectors Item | 9/1 |
| Intense Raffles | 14/1 |
| Dom Of Mary | 14/1 |
| Uncle Bert | 16/1 |
| Deafening Silence | 16/1 |
| Monbeg Genius | 22/1 |
| Livin On Luco | 22/1 |
| Hung Jury | 22/1 |
| Nassalam | 25/1 |
| Tanganyika | 25/1 |
| Where It All Began | 25/1 |
| Beaufort Scale | 50/1 |
| Pats Fancy | 66/1 |
Jubilee Express
Second in the Welsh National last year, Jubilee Express has quietly developed into a smart staying chaser, arriving off a career-best win in a 3m handicap chase over this course and distance earlier in the month.
He travelled strongly that day and found plenty late on to see off Collectors Item, suggesting the extra yardage of the Welsh National is within range rather than a worrying unknown.
His profile is one of steady, patient progress rather than fireworks, and with a handy racing weight and proven Chepstow form, he looks the sort who will just keep rolling when others crack.
Rock My Way
Rock My Way has already advertised his class in strong staying handicaps, including a fine second to Haiti Couleurs in last season’s National Hunt Challenge Cup at Cheltenham before landing 5th place at Ayr in the Scottish National.
He goes into this race having bolted up the winning straight at Ascot in November, travelling like a horse ready for a proper marathon test.
His blend of tactical speed and stamina, plus a rider in form, make him an appealing contender if he settles into a rhythm early and doesn’t get too enthusiastic in the first half of the race.
Haiti Couleurs
Haiti Couleurs is a thoroughly likeable staying chaser from Rebecca Curtis, whose record over marathon trips stands up very well, bolstered by big-race handicap wins at Cheltenham and the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse last season.
He returned this season with a smart Newbury victory off top weight before pulling up in Grade 1 company at Haydock, where the company rather than the distance looked his main issue.
Back in a handicap, off a workable mark and with Sean Bowen back on board, he has the gritty attitude and proven staying power that usually dovetail nicely with the demands of Chepstow in late December.
Git Maker
Git Maker has spent the last couple of seasons on the podium but not quite able to capture the 1st place spot.
He shaped very much like a Welsh National type when third in the Grand National Handicap Trial at Haydock back in February, before making his seasonal return at Lingfield in November, where he placed 3rd.
His ability to grind away relentlessly rather than quicken sharply could be an asset in deep ground, and his partnership with Gavin Sheehan has been a consistent positive.
Mr Vango
Mr Vango already has a notable staying CV, including smart wins at Haydock, Sandown, and the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter last season.
He warmed up for this by going desperately close in the Becher-style 3m2f handicap at Aintree earlier in December, just denied by Twig under top weight after jumping boldly throughout.
A horse who seems to grow in stature as the emphasis on stamina increases, he looks tailor‑made for a gruelling Welsh National provided the ground does not turn extreme.
O’Connell
O’Connell is one of the more upwardly mobile staying handicappers in the field, having won four of his last six chases, including the London National Handicap Chase at Sandown earlier this month.
Still relatively lightly raced for a staying chaser and clearly thriving with experience, he comes here with the feel of a horse who has not yet finished improving.
Trends for Past Winners
Recent Welsh National winners tend to share a few familiar traits: they are usually aged between seven and nine, arrive in some sort of recent form, and carry relatively low weights, generally under 10st 10 lbs, with only three carrying more since 2011.
Horses with proven form at three miles plus – ideally over four miles or close to it – have a marked edge, as this race seldom forgives those stepping into the unknown stamina-wise.
Another recurring theme is course form: several recent winners had either run well at Chepstow before or shown they could handle big, galloping left-handed tracks such as Ayr, Aintree or Newcastle.
The ground is typically soft, so a proven ability to operate in testing conditions is almost as important as the trip, making the race feel more like a test of resolve than raw ability.
Runners That Fit The Trends
Several of the 19 runners tick plenty of trend boxes, starting with Jubilee Express, who is eight years old, carries 10st 3lb and comes here having already run and finished second in this race last year.
He stays well, handles the track, and arrives on the back of a confidence-boosting success, which is very much the template of many past winners.
Rock My Way also stands out trend-wise as a seven‑year‑old with solid long-distance form and recent improvement, arriving off a commanding Ascot success.
His weight of 10-13 looks fair, and he has already shown he can mix it in big‑field handicaps at Cheltenham and Ayr.
Mr Vango looks an archetypal Welsh National contender: he is a proven marathon horse with winning Uttoxeter form, strong staying efforts at Haydock and Aintree, and a profile that suggests he thrives when the emphasis is on stamina.
His weight goes against him as he is expected to lug around 11-11 on soft ground and the last horse to win with anything near that was Native River in 2016.
From the Irish challengers, Intense Raffles and Where It All Began both bring experience from big-field staying handicaps, but their recent form is more in-and-out, and they shoulder the sort of tricky marks that make life harder in deeply run races like this.
Beaufort Scale and Livin On Luco, by contrast, are lower in the weights and have been plying their trade in slightly lesser company, but they are the types who might outrun big prices if the race turns into a war of attrition.
Haiti Couleurs, already a seasoned campaigner in top staying handicaps, gives the impression of a horse who loves a test and has the sort of battle‑hardened profile often seen in winners of this race.
The main slight concern is his big weight after a series of strong performances, but his Fairyhouse and Newbury wins show he can cope with carrying plenty on his back.
Among the more speculative but interesting cases are Collectors Item, Uncle Bert and Deafening Silence, all of whom bring staying potential and some solid recent runs without quite yet proving themselves at this trip.
They appeal more as place possibilities, the sort that plod past beaten rivals up the home straight while the grandstand debates whether it was sensible to bring an umbrella.
Predicted Leading Contenders
Applying the trends and current form, Jubilee Express narrowly earns preference as the one who most perfectly fits the traditional Welsh National winner’s mould.
He is the right age, has just won over the course, and sits on a racing weight that should allow him to travel comfortably before using his stamina late.
Close behind comes Mr Vango, whose rock‑solid staying credentials and proven form in top handicaps mark him out as a major player, if he can overcome his near top-weight.
Rock My Way and O’Connell appeal as the progressive pair who could easily make a mockery of current marks if they stay the extra half‑mile as well as they have stayed three and a bit. Haiti Couleurs, for all his weight, deserves respect as the proven class act of the staying handicap brigade, especially if the ground is no worse than soft.
Whichever of this well-matched bunch copes best with the mud, the fences and the last, lung-busting climb to the line will fully deserve to be called the Coral Welsh Grand National 2025 winner at Chepstow.
BETFRED
