Horse Racing Tips

Irish Grand National Predictions 2026: Declared Runners In Fairyhouse Easter Feature

2 hours ago

| BY Steve Mullington

The 2026 Irish Grand National takes place on Easter Monday (April 6), and here at William Hill we will be offering enhanced odds and generous place terms for one of Ireland’s biggest betting races at Fairyhouse Racecourse.

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Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the leading contenders and lively outsiders.

2026 Irish Grand National Best Bets:

Better Days Ahead (14/1)
O’Toole (33/1)

The Jukebox Kid (6/1) is the market favourite in our horse racing betting to win the Irish Grand National after a facile success in the Grade 2 Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase at Ascot in February.

Ben Pauling’s charge will be bidding to follow in the hoofsteps of Haiti Couleurs by trying to become the second successive UK-trained winner of the Easter Monday marathon.

Grade 3 winner Argento Boy (9/1) is also proving to be popular in the betting. The Willie Mullins-trained gelding was down the field in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival last time out, but wasn’t given a particularly hard race. He could well bounce back on Monday.

The Emmet Mullins-trained Soldier In Milan (9/1) beat Kiss Will in a Beginners Chase at Punchestown in February and is one of the market principles.

He was last seen finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Pierce Molony Memorial Novice Chase at Thurles and is expected to progress again over this longer trip.

Emmet Mullins knows how to ready one for a major handicap, and punters clearly think this one could provide him a first Irish National victory.

Check out Steve Mullington’s Fairyhouse tips for Sunday here

C’est Ta Chance (10/1) for Willie Mullins is hunting down a hat-trick of wins after the seven-year-old landed the Grade 3 Pierce Molony Memorial Novice Chase last time out.

The step-up in trip will suit him and any rain will be a huge help for an improving horse. He hasn’t been to Cheltenham like one or two of the others in this field, so he will go into the race a fresh enough horse.

Willie Mullins’ Kiss Will (12/1) is a hugely consistent horse. He ran well in the Jack Richards Novice Handicap Chase at Cheltenham, finishing fifth. He’s another one for whom the step-up in trip will be a huge plus and he can be really competitive.

Trainer Gordon Elliott admitted that this race has been the plan all year for Better Days Ahead (14/1).

Carrying top weight of 11st 12lbs, the most important thing for the eight-year-old is for the ground to stay on the soft side. He finished sixth in this contest last year and is in great condition.

At much longer odds you may want to consider the chances of O’Toole (33/1).

Trained by Stuart Crawford, the ten-year-old ran poorly when he went over to the UK to contest the Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock, but bounced back over a slightly shorter trip at Leopardstown two months later.

In theory he should be better equipped to deal with the demands of this distance on this occasion.

At massive odds in our sports betting is Duffle Coat (66/1), whose form has taken a nosedive but has actually got plenty of back class in the book. His last decent run of any note was in July 2024, when he finished runner-up in the Galway Plate.

“If” he was to roll back the years, it wouldn’t be the greatest surprise in the world if he made the podium positions.