Owned by John P. McManus and trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero in Oldcastle, Cheshire, Iroko was sent off 13/2 favourite for the 2025 Grand National and duly finished a staying-on fourth, beaten 7½ lengths by the winner, Nick Rockett. He has since undergone wind surgery and reappeared in a five-runnet graduation chase, over 2 miles and 5½ furlongs, at Haydock in November, in which he finished a rallying second, beaten 2½ lengths, behind the odds-on favourite The Jukebox Man. The winner had won the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton the previous Boxing Day and, while the Haydock form has yet to be tested, Iroko nonetheless remains clear 12/1 favourite, ante-post, for the 2026 Grand National.
Three times a winner over hurdles, including the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, Iroko remains relatively lightly raced over fences, having made just nine starts over the larger obstacles. The soon-to-be eight-year-old won a novices’ chase at Warwick on his chasing debut in November 2023 and, although winless since, has continued to run to a consistently high level. Of course, the weights for the Grand National aren’t published until February, but Iroko is currently rated 152 by the British Horeracing Authority (BHA), a figure that compares favourably with the 152.6 average rating of the last 10 winners.
Six of the last 10 Grand National were eight-year-olds, too, which adds weight to his cause and it’ll be interesting to see how his season progresses. Following his comeback, trainer Josh Josh Guerriero told the ‘Sporting Life’, “He [Iroko] ran so well, there’s no need to change a lot and Jonjo [O’Neill Jr., his regular jockey] seemed to think he felt better on Saturday than he did last year. He’s had his wind done and he just looked a lot more comfortable and straight.” Guerriero intimated that further runs at Ascot, Cheltenham and Kelso are on the cards for Iroko en route to, as was the case in 2025. Provided the handicapper doesn’t overreact to his previous performance over the National fences and, of course, barring accidents, he must have every chance of chalking up a fourth win for his legendary owner.