Fil Dor

Fil Dor, foaled in 2018, is a likeable grey racehorse, and of course, when running in the Grand National, being grey in colour will always bring some extra attention.

He would make his Grand National debut in 2025, running for Gordon Elliott, being ridden by Sam Ewing. They would go around Aintree nicely, but eventually run out of steam, and that led to Ewing pulling up the horse at the 27^th fence, not too far away from the finish of the race.

However, this is a horse that has been on the radar of racing fans for some time, and not just because he is grey, but because he made an early splash with some really impressive runs as a juvenile.

His first season over fences was arguably his best, beginning with a string of really good performances. He went unbeaten for some time and won twice at Grade Three level as part of that in Ireland. Then he would step up, running in the biggest Grade One juvenile races on the calendar at Cheltenham and Punchestown, putting up good efforts in both to finish second in those.

Chasing would come next, but this was not as successful, and when running at the top, such as in the Irish Arkle, he was soundly beaten. That prompted a switch back to hurdles, where he was able to record a Grade Three success in open company at Gowran Park in the Red Mills Trial Hurdle in 2023.

A switch back to chasing would come afterwards, and this is when he started running over slightly longer trips, though nothing as long as the Grand National. You can probably argue that his Grand National run was a shot in the dark, both with the fences being tough, and the distance, but the horse didn’t disgrace himself on debut in the race.

Full Results