Any Second Now

Horses | Last ran in 2023
Dam - Pretty Neat
Sire - Oscar
Dam's Sire - Topanoora
Born - 2012

Any Second Now Grand National Wins

Any Second Now has never won the Grand National.

Their best finish to date was in 2022 where they came 2nd. They were ridden by Mark Walsh and trained by Ted Walsh.

Any Second Now walking to parade ring 2022

Any Second Now has not been able to win the Grand National just yet but has been involved in two finishes of the race, falling short on both occasions. He’s been trained with the Grand National in mind during the peak of his career, and that has been rewarded with 2nd and 3rd-placed efforts.

Foaled in 2012, he’s won Grade Two and Grade Three events in his career, as well as a big handicap at the Cheltenham Festival, which came in 2019. The Grand National has eluded him, so far, at least, anyway.

Full Results

Year Result Prize Money Handicap Jockey Trainer
2023 Fence 18 - Pulled Up - 11-12 Mark Walsh Ted Walsh
2022 2 £211,100 11-8 Mark Walsh Ted Walsh
2021 3 £100,000 10-9 Mark Walsh Ted Walsh

Any Second Now with jockey 2022

Two-Time Placed Efforts in the Grand National

Any Second Now Grand National 2023 full bodyAs mentioned, we’ve seen Any Second Now come close to winning the Grand National on two separate occasions. It is also worth mentioning that the plan was to run him in the 2020 race when he would have been in his prime, though the cancellation of that ended his hopes.

2021 was the first time we saw him run in the race, and he finished a very credible third behind Minella Times in that race. He was just over eight lengths behind the impressive winner but almost 20 lengths ahead of the fourth-placed runner, he was well clear in that capacity and stayed on well to show that four miles around Aintree is no problem.

There was one crucial moment in the race, which could be seen as the moment his winning chance was gone, and that came at the 12th fence. A horse fell in front of him, and after getting into a good rhythm and being with the front end of the field, Any Second Now was hampered so much that he dropped towards the back.

Time was taken to get him back on track, and that went well, but the feeling is that this moment, in particular, took enough out of him to prevent the horse from having any real chance of winning the race. He went third at the final fence and then stayed on far better than anything behind him to seal the deal for third and finish well clear of the others who made it home.

A year later, in 2022, Any Second Now was back for more, he was unable to win yet again but did move up a place and get closer to the winner. He finished second in this race, behind winner Noble Yeats, two and a quarter lengths back. There was another big gap behind Any Second Now, with 20 lengths back to the third-placed runner, who was Delta Work.

It was a different style of race this time around, he was disputing the lead two out and was very narrowly ahead at the final fence. However, after that was jumped, Noble Yeats was the horse to stay on better up the hill, getting ahead and then keeping clear in the final few yards.

Any Second Now was sent off as the 15/2 favourite, with plenty of public money behind him, given he’d had a strong season and looked as though he’d been trained spot-on for the day. But he was three years older than his opponent and carrying almost a stone more on his back, those two eventually told and made the difference.

2023: Third Time Round, Misfortune For Any Second Now

Another heavily backed horse for 2023, having had a fabulous season and placing or winning at various events. Very early on in the race, Any Second Now was badly impacted by a faller at the second fence and never really returned to full strength, staying at the back when between fences 17 and 18, Jockey Mark Walsh decided it was time to call it a day.  The horse hasnt rode in any other events during 2023. Will be turning 12 in May 2024. Uncertain it we see this boy again for the

Any Second Now’s Early Years

Any Second Now won a couple of events early and was two from two in his career to begin, unusual for a horse that eventually turns out into a Grand National contender. The latter was a Grade Two contest, so he was right in at a decent level from the off.

A year later and Any Second Now went novice chasing, but in five runs, he was unable to get a win on the board, though was taking on some very strong rivals. He was second and third in Grade One events, behind Footpad, he also finished behind Monalee in a race and finished 8th at the Cheltenham Festival.

Any Second Now’s Big Race Wins Up Until 2023

The Cheltenham Festival win in 2019 in the Kim Muir handicap chase stands tall as being the biggest of Any Second Now’s career. He won nicely that day, was well backed and sent off just 6/1 for a hugely competitive handicap, coming away to win by almost four lengths.

Elsewhere, he’s won twice at Grade Two level and twice at Grade Three level, all coming in Ireland, to add to that Cheltenham win. The start of the 2022 to 2023 jump season certainly showed promise, placing in all races, with his best efforts being a 1st at Naven in a grade 2 chase in March 2023.

Of course, the Grand National is one he’s tried to win, but that’s eluded him during his career so far. The 2023 run in for him proved to be disappointing being pulled up early on, unlike taking second in 2022.