Randox Topham Chase
Grade 3 Handicap, Aintree 16:05 £150,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 2m 5f 19y, Class 1
Tweet Friday 4th April 2025

1 Gentleman De Mee 14/1
2 Lisnamult Lad 22/1
3 The Goffer 14/1
4 Amirite 18/1
5 James Du Berlais 10/1
30 ran Distances: ¾l, 7½l, shd
Time: 5m 23.72s (slow by 3.72s)

RIDE OF THE SEASON!

Gentleman De Mee comes from LAST to win the @RandoxHealth Topham 🤯 pic.twitter.com/TMgFTzGpWD

— Aintree Racecourse (@AintreeRaces) April 4, 2025

On a day when the Grand National fences loomed large and Irish eyes were already smiling, it was Gentleman De Mee who emerged late and fast to snatch victory in a race run at a breathless gallop and delivered in pure Willie Mullins-JP McManus style.

Under a brilliantly timed ride from Mark Walsh, the nine-year-old—once a top-tier Grade One winner but sent off a 14-1 outsider here—survived an early scare at the second, kept his powder dry when it mattered, and unleashed a telling burst late in the day to take the spoils with a perfectly judged three-quarters-of-a-length success.

For the first time this week, the professional riders tackled the Grand National fences, and it didn’t take long for the story to unfold. Ginny’s Destiny set the fractions early for Paul Nicholls, skipping along merrily up front until the field began to close around Becher’s.

Lisnamult Lad, trained by Ian Donoghue, took over after the last with purpose, looking every inch the winner as he edged clear under Jonathan Burke. But fate—so often a mischievous hand in races over these fences—had one last card to play.

A loose horse, meandering directly into Burke’s path, forced a split-second check that halted Lisnamult Lad’s momentum at exactly the wrong moment. Walsh, meanwhile, was unflustered—biding his time, asking for everything, and getting the perfect response from a horse who rolled back the years when it mattered most.

“Travelling like a dream, a stutter at the second, but from then on he was electric,” you might have heard from the commentary box, the familiar Hoiles lilt capturing every beat of the drama.

The result? A 1-2-3-4-5 for Ireland, with Gentleman De Mee leading home a cavalry charge that sets the tone ahead of Saturday’s Randox Grand National, where I Am Maximus, also trained by Mullins for McManus, heads the market.

And if this was the warm-up act, Saturday promises a main event of equal theatre.

Randox Health Topham Chase (Grade 3 Handicap)
£150,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 2m 5f 19y, Class 1
30 runners
Going: Good to Soft

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1    Gentleman De Mee 9 11-11 W P Mullins Mark Walsh 14/1
2 ¾ Lisnamult Lad 8 10-5 Ian Patrick Donoghue Jonathan Burke 22/1
3 7½ The Goffer 8 10-7 Gordon Elliott Danny Gilligan 14/1
4 shd Amirite 9 10-12 Henry De Bromhead Rachael Blackmore 18/1
5 1¼ James Du Berlais 9 11-8 W P Mullins J J Slevin 10/1
6 1¾ Jetoile t 10 10-6 Ryan Potter Freddie Mitchell 33/1
7 2¼ Ginny's Destiny 9 11-4 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 8/1
8 5 The King Of Prs 7 10-8 Gavin Cromwell Conor Stone-Walsh 25/1
9 1 Soul Icon 8 11-1 Keiran Burke Tom Bellamy 12/1
10 ½ Dreal Deal 10 10-7 John C McConnell Callum Pritchard 66/1
11 1 Adamantly Chosen 8 11-0 W P Mullins Brian Hayes 50/1
12 4½ Marble Sands 9 10-13 David Killahena & Graeme McPherson Kielan Woods 14/1
13 ½ Mars Harper 9 10-8 Gordon Elliott Sam Ewing 40/1
14 2 Excello 6 10-2 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville 10/1
15 shd Escaria Ten 11 10-3 Martin Keighley James Best 66/1
16 shd Lounge Lizard 8 10-5 Henry Daly Sam Twiston-Davies 20/1
17 2¾ Eldorado Allen 11 11-1 Joe Tizzard Brendan Powell 28/1
18 25 Gemirande 9 10-11 Venetia Williams Charlie Deutsch 50/1
19 1¼ French Dynamite 10 11-5 M F Morris Gavin Brouder 50/1
20 9½ Shantreusse 9 10-6 Henry De Bromhead Darragh O'Keeffe 14/1
21 1¾ Fantastic Lady 10 10-12 Nicky Henderson James Bowen 20/1
22 8½ Latenightpass 2 12 11-0 T Ellis Mr Jack Andrews 28/1
23 38 Glengouly 9 11-0 W P Mullins Danny Mullins 33/1
PU Minella Drama 10 11-4 Donald McCain Brian Hughes 50/1
PU Ga Law 9 11-8 Jamie Snowden Gavin Sheehan 25/1
PU Grandeur d'Ame 9 10-8 Alan King Tom Cannon 25/1
PU Blue Lord 10 11-8 W P Mullins Paul Townend 5/1F
PU Western Zephyr 8 10-3 Charlie Longsdon Sean Bowen 50/1
PU Bad 6 10-10 Ben Pauling Ben Jones 15/2
UR Ash Tree Meadow 9 12-0 Gordon Elliott Keith DonoghUE 80/1