Owned by John ‘J.P.’ McManus and trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, Jagwar was sent off 17/2 for the 2026 Grand National, but parted company with jockey Mark Walsh after a bad mistake at the first ditch on the second circuit. To be fair, that was his first non-completion in nine starts over fences and, having finished in the first three in steeplechases at Cheltenham on his five previous starts, his jumping ability can probably be taken on trust.
Indeed, the lightly-raced seven-year-old had been in excellent form prior to his Aintree mishap, winning the TrustATrader Plate at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival and just being touched off by Johnnywho, also owned by McManus, in the Ultima Handicap Chase at the 2026 Festival, on his first attempt beyond three miles. Johnnywho went on to finish fourth, beaten four-and-a-quarter lengths, in the 2026 Grand National so, while Jagwar has his stamina to prove, his failure to concede 6lb to his older rival at Cheltenham is excusable.
Based on British Horseracing Authoriy (BHA) official handicap ratings, at the time of writing, Jagwar is still rated 5lb superior to Johnnywho, but much will depend on how the BHA handicapper reacts to their respective Aintree performances when the weights for the 2027 Grand National are unveiled in February. It is also worth noting that the yard has a better-fancied contender for the 2027 Grand National in the form of Iroko, another owned by McManus, who scoped dirty after finishing down the field in the Ultima Handicap Chase, but went on to finish second in the 2026 Grand National, two-and-a-half lengths behind the winner, I Am Maximus, and a length-and-three-quarters ahead of Johnnywho.
Prior to Cheltenham, Guerriero told the ‘Racing Post’, “If you work them at home, or indeed when we went for a racecourse gallop last week, Iroko can’t get anywhere near Jagwar. ” However, that statemenent does not take into account four-and-a-quarter miles and 30 Grand National fences, so it will be interesting to see how the pair progress.