Dermot McLoughlin

A more minor name from the Irish racing scene, but a man that has already tasted Grand National success, though not in the UK at Aintree, instead over in Ireland, at Fairyhouse. Dermot McLoughlin put himself on the racing map with back-to-back shock wins in the Irish Grand National. At odds of 40/1 and 150/1, his horses weren’t fancied by many but were good enough to come home in front and raise the profile of the County Meath trainer.

Those successes in the Irish Grand National would come in 2021, firstly with Freewheelin Dylan at 150/1, and then he followed it up in 2022, this time with Lord Lariat at 40/1. The 2021 success is the biggest priced winner of the Irish Grand National in its history, which is over 150 years.

The win is something that every small trainer thinks about, being able to land one of the biggest prizes in racing and, despite their low numbers, stand up to the big boys, if only for a few seconds. McLoughlin did that not once but twice, and with additional exposure, we could be hearing more about him in the future.

Grand National success at Aintree is yet to come, Vics Canvas was his first runner in the race back in 2016, and he came third, while Freewheelin Dylan ran in the 2022 edition and was a respectable seventh.

One thing is for sure, this is a trainer who knows how to handle staying chase horses who go over extreme distances, so in terms of a profile for the Grand National and the knowledge needed, he certainly has it thanks to those Irish wins.

Full Results

Famous Horses Trained By Dermot McLoughlin

Here are some of the big-named horses that have been trained by Dermot McLoughlin

Freewheelin Dylan

Lord Lariat

Vics Canvas