Minella Trump Grand National Wins
Minella Trump has never won the Grand National.
Their best finish to date was in 2023 where they came 15th. They were ridden by Theo Gillard and trained by Donald McCain Jnr.
Trained by Donald McCain, it is fair to say that before his attempt at the 2023 Grand National, Minella Trump didn’t really look like the ideal contender for the race. Before that Aintree outing, he’d run just three times at three miles, never more than that, and although he’d won all those three races over the distance of three miles, they were all low-grade contests, summer races.
Foaled in 2014, despite the fact he never really looked like a Grand National type, he did have two major positives in his favour before the race. The first his trainer, Donald McCain, a winner of the Grand National and son of Ginger McCain, the trainer of Red Rum, a Grand National legend. Secondly, over fences, he’d improved massively, winning six in a row and eight out of nine in his starts before the 2023 Grand National. He started that run with a rating of 125 and ran in the 2023 Grand National off a mark of 147.
Full Results
| Year | Result | Prize Money | Handicap | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 15 | - | 10-6 | Theo Gillard | Donald McCain Jnr |
Minella Trump’s Early Years
In March of 2019, Minella Trump would hit a racetrack for the first time in a point-to-point race in Ireland, his only run in amateur races, and also a very impressive win to get things started. He won his maiden point-to-point race by six lengths, and after that, he was transferred over the Irish Sea and to the Donald McCain yard, where he would begin a career under rules.
He went straight over hurdles for McCain and hit the ground running, winning his first two starts, both novice hurdle races. He then went handicapping, with a couple of second-placed efforts and a fourth to round off his season.
The following year he went chasing but struggled, and after three big defeats over fences, he went back hurdling, running three times and finishing in the first three in them all, winning his last effort.
Then came a big run of wins for Minella Trump, as the horse finally got the hang of things over the bigger obstacles. Between August 2012 and November 2021, he won six races in a row, five handicaps and one novice chase, three at Perth first, followed up by wins at Sedgefield, Sandown and Catterick. He improved 15lb and was brilliantly placed by trainer Donald McCain, allowing the horse to pick up plenty of prize money but keeping him to low-grade races and not seeing his handicap mark raised too much during that time.
Minella Trump’s Big Race Wins
Despite being a prolific winner during his career, Minella Trump was not able to win a big race during his rise through the ranks. This wasn’t because he failed but simply because he didn’t get the chance to perform at that level.
A class two handicap chase win at Perth in June 2022 is his highest-class victory so far, but also the highest race he ran in prior to running in the 2023 Grand National. Rather than going for the big pots, trainer Donald McCain decided it was better to go for a number of smaller pots, keep the horse busy, and mop up those races, which is precisely what he did.