Intense Raffles holds off late challenge to win Irish Grand National
Jockey JJ Slevin celebrates after winning the BoyleSports Irish Grand National Steeplechase, aboard Intense Rafflee. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
The same but different. That was how Tom Gibney summed up his feelings after Intense Raffles gave him a second victory in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National.
Unlike shock 2012 victor Lion Na Bearnai, there was pressure with Intense Raffles given the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned grey had proven his liking for Fairyhouse by winning twice at the Meath venue since his arrival from France.
Sent off at odds of 13-2 to complete the hat-trick, the six-year-old travelled sweetly through the contest in the hands of JJ Slevin, deputising for the injured Daryl Jacob, until making a bad mistake four fences from home.
He survived that scare, however, and his younger legs repelled fast-finishing veteran Any Second Now by a length and a half with top weight Minella Cocooner running a massive race in third ahead of Frontal Assault and History Of Fashion.
INTENSE RAFFLES wins the @BoyleSports Irish Grand National! 🟢🟢
— FairyhouseRacecourse (@Fairyhouse) April 1, 2024
Trainer Tom Gibney lands a second win in this race 12 years after his first as JJ Slevin does the honours in the saddle 🙌#EasterFestival24 | #DoubleGreen | @simon_munir pic.twitter.com/MtIyMHlUfn
“I’m getting hugs and kisses, it feels like a wedding,” Gibney said. “It’s brilliant. I’m a Meath man and get it here is amazing. To win it twice is surreal.
“It was a dream to win it in 2012, it was so different to today. There was much more expectation and pressure.”
Part of the pressure came from Gibney’s belief that Intense Raffles was the real deal. Seeing great expectations vindicated felt sweet.
“I had huge confidence in the horse. People were asking if I was nervous but hand on my heart I wasn’t nervous because we had huge confidence in him. He’s the best I’ve had. He’s just a good horse, you know when you ride a good horse, you just get a feeling that this horse is so much better than all the others and that’s the feeling I get on him nearly every day I ride him. He’s only six so who knows where he’ll go.”
Gibney was quick to express his gratitude to Munir and Souede for resisting the temptation to send Intense Raffles to one of the bigger owners and take a chance on him instead.
“Fair play to the boys, it’s very easy for the big owners to go to the big yards and for them to pick out a small stable like ours and give us a horse, kudos to them. That takes a bit of doing. It’s great to be able to repay them.
“I want to say thanks to the staff — it’s a small outfit — my family, my daughters, and my wife. It’s a small local team and they’re brilliant, it’s great for them. They need it as much as I need it.”
Slevin needed it too.
Like Gibney, the Wexford jockey already had an Irish Grand National on his CV before Monday — General Principle in 2018 — but the Gold Cup at last month’s Cheltenham Festival brought frustration as he was unseated by the fancied Fastorslow when still well in the mix.
“I never thought these sort of things (Irish National wins) would happen to me. I fell off a horse in a Gold Cup a few weeks ago and let a lot of people down then and I’m lucky to get the chance today.”
Slevin was quick to pay tribute to Jacob, saying: “It’s magic but let’s not forget Daryl, he’s watching it at home and this will be tough to take for him.”
Slevin’s confidence in Intense Raffles’ National prospects was only heightened by a visit to the trainer.
“I called up to Tom during the week and Tom said to me: ‘I won’t tell too many people this but I think he’ll win.’ He was right.”
That he was.
While the winner will understandably take the majority of the plaudits, a thought must be spared for runner-up Any Second Now. No horse has won an Irish National as a 12-year-old since Brown Lad won the iconic race for a record third time in 1978 but Any Second Now gave it a far go here.
Third to Minella Times in the 2021 Aintree Grand National, Any Second Now finished second to Noble Yeats on his return to Liverpool 12 months later. That he again found one too good again at Fairyhouse was cruel luck but Ted Walsh can’t have been anything but proud after another massive effort from the JP McManus-owned veteran.
