Last season's race

• Winner: Gentleman De Mee
• Jockey: Mark P Walsh
• Trainer: W P Mullins
• Owner: Mr John P McManus
• Age: 9 Weight: 11st 11lbs
• Starting Price: 14/1
• Season Form Figures: 5754
• Previous Best: 1st - Ladbrokes Dublin Chase (Grade 1), Leopardstown (February 2023)

By Paul Jones

Until 2007, the Topham was limited to horses rated no higher than 150, but now it is open to allcomers and a very fine handicap it has become too. Since 2000 only six winners have carried more than 11st to victory though, with 12 of the last 22 winners carrying no more than 10st 7lb.

Willie Mullins’ poor record in Cheltenham Festival handicaps has been well documented, but he has won the Grand National twice and been responsible for Ireland’s last four Topham winners following the success of Gentleman De Mee last season, so he has no such problems at Aintree - plus he has also saddled three seconds, three thirds and a fourth in the Topham, so his contenders are very much respected.

In fact, the Irish filled the first five places last season and the second and third in 2022 after posting a 1-3-6 the previous season from their five runners. They were also responsible for the 1-2 in 2019, so they have really got to grips with the Topham of late bearing in mind that they have registered just eight victories in total going back to 1952.

In victory four years ago, Mac Tottie was giving Peter Bowen a remarkable fifth win in the Topham in what is now the last 18 runnings. Always Waining was responsible for three of those successes, but two more winners and three fourths tell is it has not all been about his course specialist. His training licence has now been passed down to Mickey Bowen.

Also responsible for five winners is Nicky Henderson. He may not be able to win the Grand National for love nor money but with a couple of notable exceptions in Gold Cup winners, Long Run and Bobs Worth, Seven Barrows tend to specialise in speed horses, so take note of their entries.

After a slow start, Gentleman De Mee was in last place jumping the first fence, so he passed the whole field to win. Of the last 42 winners, remarkably only four were given hold-up rides in that they were not prominent from half-way, so this has been a big race for those that like in-running betting. Horses near the pace generally don’t tend to come back in this race and the Fox Hunters’, so look to a horse who likes to get out there and enjoy itself. In fact, three of the last six winners made virtually all the running.

Previous course experience has been a significant factor with last season’s Topham Chase featuring as many as eight winners in the last 21 years followed by the Grand Sefton Chase (five winners) and Becher Chase (three winners) in the same time span. Moreover, in 2018 Ultragold was winning the race for the second year running and Always Waining won three consecutive runnings between 2010-2012 underlining the course specialist element for this particular race. When Irish Raptor won in 2009, he went one place better than in 2008.

The Plate run over a similar distance to the Topham at the Cheltenham Festival has been the best guide during the same season featuring eight Topham winners since 1995.

Two French-bred five-year-olds have won in Gwanako and Cyfor Malta. Another, Mon Parrain, was caught after the last fence in 2011 after looking sure to win. Triolo D’Alene and Ma Filleule were two more successful, young French-bred winners in the last 10 runnings at the age of six (and it was a French-bred 1-2 in 2020 and a 2-3-4 in 2022), but in victory three years ago the novice Bill Baxter became the first British or Irish-bred runner aged under eight to be successful since Smith’s Man in 1985.

Winning form earlier in the season had been present in the profiles of 13 successive winners up until 2005, but of the subsequent 19 winners only six had won earlier in the season. However, this could be a statistic on the change, as Bill Baxter had won his four previous races - all in novice handicap chases - while Arizona Cardinal was completing a hat-trick here two years ago. A busy campaign is also no negative, with 15 winners in the last 28 years having run seven times or more in the seasonal build up to Aintree.