Any Second Now in "great nick" ahead of BoyleSports Irish Grand National bid
Any Second Now gave Ted Walsh and his connections a good day out at Cheltenham a few years back, and now the 13-year-old bids for Irish Grand National glory. INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Ted Walsh believes Any Second Now’s age will be no barrier as the Kildare-based trainer bids to bag a second victory in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday.
Walsh celebrated success 25 years ago when son Ruby steered Commanche Court to victory and Any Second Now is a 20/1 shot in the latest betting to become the first 13-year-old to win the race since Overshadow in 1953.
But in an exclusive interview with sponsor BoyleSports before Monday’s €500,000 showpiece, Walsh insisted his stable star can go one better than last year when he finished just 1½ lengths behind winner Intense Raffles.
“I love the horse and I’ll be sorry to see him go,” Walsh told BoyleSports. “If JP McManus decides he doesn’t want to give him a home, which is very unlikely, he can have one with me!” “He was very unlucky not to win an English National. He was well handicapped the first year when Covid came and closed it down, then a horse fell in front of him the next year and he got back up to be third. He just met a well handicapped horse when second to Noble Yeats the third year.
“He’s certainly not gone. He’s in great nick and I think he’ll run a big race. He’s as good as he was this time last year, he doesn’t know he’s 13. He’s been trained with the race in mind and he had nice runs at Fairyhouse and Naas the last time. Mark Walsh has looked after him well and he’s going to ride him again. He could have ridden a couple of others so he must think he has a squeak. If he runs well I’d be delighted, if he wins, I’ll be over the moon. It’s a great race and it would be lovely to have another winner at this stage.
“Any more rain that comes between now and the race will help him. He handles any type of ground, but the ground was good and soft last year and a real test of stamina, that saw the best of him and only Intense Raffles was too good for him.” Cheltenham Festival winner Haiti Couleurs is the current 5/1 for the BoyleSports Irish Grand National, while the Willie Mullins-trained High Class Hero is an 8/1 shot to seal a hat-trick of National wins for the Closutton maestro following victories in the English and Scottish equivalents this month.
