Madara Leads the Way in Friday’s Topham Chase Market
Thursday, 9th April sees the 2026 edition of the Aintree Grand National Festival go under starter’s orders. Held over three days, the Merseyside meeting features an impressive eleven Grade 1 contests. Despite that consistent stream of top-class entertainment, the fixture is most famous for the headline handicap.
For those who don’t want to wait until Saturday to see the covers come off the likes of The Chair, Becher’s Brook, and Valentines, Aintree serves up a pair of appetisers ahead of the main course. The Foxhunters Chase affords the amateur riders a crack at the famous fences on the opening day, while day two, Ladies Day, sees a maximum field of 30 tackle 2m5f of the Grand National course in the Topham Chase.
Making its debut in 1949, this Premier Handicap offers £150,000 in total prize money. In common with most of the feature events at the 2026 Grand National Festival, the Topham Chase presents a classic Britain vs Ireland battle. However, unlike the Grand National, the betting suggests the hosts may hold the edge in this warm-up event. With 18 runners to 12 for Ireland, Britain boasts strength in numbers. Included in that 18-strong team is the current market leader, who heads to Aintree following a mightily impressive performance at the Cheltenham Festival.
Skelton to Strike with Championship in Sight
The past two editions of the Aintree Grand National Festival marked the beginning of the end for Dan Skelton’s bid to become British Champion Trainer. Leading the race in both 2024 and 2025, the Warwickshire handler saw his lead decimated by the overwhelming force of Willie Mullins’ raiding party. However, this year, he is surely beyond the reach of the Closutton colossus. Over £2 million ahead of Mullins with races running out, the title appears bound for Lodge Hill.
While not as influential as the £1 million Grand National, the £84,195 first-place prize money of the Topham Chase would see Skelton edge ever closer to the finish line. In Madara, he may well have the horse to claim a first win in the race.
Despite being only seven years of age, this son of Doctor Dino is already onto his fifth trainer. Previously successful for David Cottin and Sophie Leech, Madara came up short in his first four starts for Skelton. However, not for the first time, Skelton inspired significant improvement when it mattered most. Well-backed ahead of the Sun Racing Plate Handicap Chase, Madara sauntered seven and a half lengths clear in one of the most coveted handicaps of the season. He’s up 10 pounds for that, but looked like a Graded horse in a handicap that day and may be up to the task.
Last Year’s Champ Included in Mullins Team
Much has been made of the fact that Willie Mullins has made only one entry for the Scottish Grand National, with many seeing that as the waving of the white flag in the trainer’s championship race. However, while his runners at Ayr may be thin on the ground, he is taking dead aim at Aintree.
Well represented across the meeting, Mullins has a bumper nine entries in the Grand National and a trio of live challengers in this event. While not the shortest price of the Mullins contingent with every bookie, the JP McManus runner Gentleman De Mee boasts the most obvious claims.
Willie Mullins Runners in the 2026 Topham Handicap Chase
| Horse | No. | Jockey | Owner | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gentleman De Mee | 3 | Mark Walsh | JP Mcmanus | 7/1 |
| Ile Atlantique | 4 | Paul Townend | Tony Bloom | 15/2 |
| O’Moore Park | 17 | Sean O’Keeffe | Mrs S Ricci | 25/1 |
Twice successful in Grade 1 company, this son of Saint Des Saints was talented enough to finish second in the 2024 Queen Mother Champion Chase. Moving up in trip with age, he had his first experience of the Grand National fences in the 2025 edition of this race. Racing off a mark of 155 that day, he showed admirable determination to reel in the leader after the last, to post a tenacious three-quarter-length success. While not at his best in three starts this season, he has been given a break since January and that proven form over track and trip counts in his favour.
With the JP McManus number one Mark Walsh aboard Gentleman De Mee, Paul Townend has plumped for the eight-year-old Ile Atlantique. Long held in high regard at the Mullins yard, this Tony Bloom runner has perhaps fallen a little short of expectations. Disappointing in three Grade 1 starts last season, three outings at Grade 3 level have produced similar results in the current campaign. It is too early to write him off, but he will need to improve on his first experience of the National fences. O’Moore Park completes the Mullins team but has work to do with Madara, having finished 14 lengths behind the Skelton runner at the Cheltenham Festival.
Should any of the Mullins trio come home in front, the living legend will draw level with Peter Bowen and Nicky Henderson as the most successful trainer in the history of the Topham Chase.
With Gavin Cromwell, Henry De Bromhead, and Gordon Elliott among the other trainers on show, the 2026 Topham Chase promises to set the scene nicely ahead of the 2026 Grand National. The Topham Handicap is scheduled for 4:05 pm on Friday.