TIGER Roll and Red Rum remain the only two back-to-back Grand National winners since the 1930s so the challenge facing I Am Maximus in this year’s Randox-backed feature is clearly a significant one.

However, given the emphatic style in which he won Aintree’s showpiece event by seven and a half lengths last year, an 8lb higher mark may not be insurmountable for J.P. McManus’ National specialist.

He was never a threat in the Savills Chase or Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup last season and it’s been a similar story in the 2024/’25 campaign. In fact, he was beaten 17 and a half lengths at the 2024 Dublin Racing Festival. The margin was an almost identical 17 lengths in the same race this year.

Long story short, I Am Maximus saves his best for the spring and Willie Mullins has made no secret of the fact that this nine-year-old has been trained with one day in mind all season.

Yes, defying top-weight in the Grand National is a considerable task for any horse, but the modern version of the Liverpool spectacular is completely different to many of the historical records in this regard. As demonstrated last year – the first running with a safety-led reduced field of 32 runners (limit down to 34 from 40) – class appears likelier than ever to come to the fore.

The first four home in the 2024 Grand National were all Grade 1 winners (including a former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner), trained by Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead. It now gives the feel of something closer to a Grade 1 contest than a handicap. I Am Maximus must have a huge chance of following up.

Speaking of high-class chasers, Inothewayurthinkin ought to have serious credentials too after BHA handicapper Martin Greenwood opted to let him run off the same as his Irish rating of 160. A most dominant winner of last year’s Kim Muir Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival off a mark of 145, he then went on to record the sole Grade 1 win of his career in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at last year’s Aintree Festival.

DRF promise

There weren’t major fireworks on his first two starts of this campaign but improvement with each run is evident. His third and most recent run of the season, beaten seven and a quarter lengths when fourth in the Irish Gold Cup, was particularly eyecatching and offered real encouragement that he could be about to come to hand at the right time of year.

Unfortunately for those interested in an ante-post nibble, much of the value is leaking out of his price due to the obvious nature of his profile but he could easily be the answer to this year’s race for Gavin Cromwell at odds ranging between 8/1. The best could still be to come from him. Iroko has an appealing profile, though his stamina remains an unknown for something like this. In the same McManus silks, Perceval Legallois is in the form of his life and despite being 11lb higher than when winning the Paddy Power Chase, he makes most appeal of that pair at 25/1 than Iroko at a general 12/1.

Last year’s runner-up Delta Work loves this test but could possibly have been given more of a hand at the weights as a 12-year-old. He races off the same mark as 12 months ago (157), though it is 6lb higher than his Irish rating. Would he have beaten or been right upsides I Am Maximus if that rival had 8lb less on his back in the 2024 renewal? I’m not so sure.

One stayer whose ceiling we can’t be sure of yet is last year’s BoyleSports Irish Grand National hero Intense Raffles. Again, he’s no higher in the handicap here off 151 than he is on home soil and is another who only has this race in mind for the entire season. His two hurdles runs this winter haven’t been electrifying by any means, but they are likely serving a purpose to help him build to the spring.

Up 11lb for his Easter success at Fairyhouse, he isn’t exposed as a staying chaser by any means. He’s also still only a seven-year-old. Odds of 16/1 look fair from an each-way perspective.

While Inothewayurthinkin looks the likeliest winner at this point, it won’t be everyone’s idea of a good time to have ante-post money tied up for the next two months on a horse of his price in a Grand National. It’s hard to escape the feeling, however, that the £1 million extravaganza has a distinct green and gold look to it at this stage.