A nine-year-old trained by Jonjo O’Neill and his younger son, Anthony Joseph ‘A.J.’ O’Neill, Johnnywho is one of a handful on contenders for the 2027 Grand National owned by John ‘J.P.’ McManus. McManus became the most successful owner in the history of the celebrated steeplechase in 2026, courtesy of a second victory for I Am Maximus, and also owned the second and fourth horses home, Iroko and Johnnywho.
Johnnywho, himself, had led home a notable 1-2 for the Irish billionaire in the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on his previous start, beating Jagwar, trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, by half a length. That was his first win on the 2025/2026 campaign, but he had previously had a ‘sighter’ over the Grand National fences when gradually weakening into fifth place, beaten eight lengths by the winner, in the Grand Sefton Chase in early November. He clearly demonstrated the benefit of that experience in the Grand National proper and, indeed, was unfortunate not to finish closer than he did to I Am Maximus, having been hampered by a loose horse on the run-in.
A winner of his sole point-to-point start, as a four-year-old, Johnnywho has won just two of his 11 starts over regulation fences but, following wind surgery prior to the Cheltenham Festival, staying looks very much his game. Indeed, his three starts over three-and-a-quarter miles or further, so far, have yielded a second-place in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup at Cheltenham, a fifth-place in the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse and a fourth place in the Grand National itself. As ever, much will depend on the intentions of his owner and trainer and how the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) reacts to his previous performance at Aintree, but few could argue that he is compiling a CV befitting a future Grand National winner. The bookmakers clearly think so, hence his prominence in the early ante-post betting for the 2027 renewal.