Randox Foxhunters' Open Hunters' Chase
 AutoUpdating 150x150 Gif
£50,000 guaranteed, Aintree 16:05
6yo plus,
2m 5f 19y, Class 2    
Thursday 3rd April 2025

BetGoodwin

1 Gracchus De Balme 22/1
2 Jet Plane 11/1
3 Lifetime Ambition 5/1
4 My Drogo 5/1
29 ran NR: Captain Tommy Distances: 1l, 1¼l, 1l
Time: 5m 30.29s (slow by 10.29s)

In a race that so often delivers stirring stories, it once again delivered in spades as Gracchus De Balme, under a brave ride from Huw Edwards, summoned every ounce of determination to snatch victory in the shadows of the post.

Racing prominently throughout, the 22-1 outsider appeared to have played his hand when Dan Skelton’s Jet Plane swept by after the final fence, looking set to take the prize. But Gracchus De Balme wasn't finished—not by a long chalk. Rallying with relentless tenacity, he reeled Jet Plane back in and edged ahead in the final strides to win by a length. Lifetime Ambition ran with credit to be third, with My Drogo, once a rising star over both hurdles and fences, plugging on for fourth.

For trainer Joe O’Shea, the moment carried more weight than any numbers on a racecard ever could. He saddled Cousin Pascal to victory in this very race back in 2021—but that was behind closed doors in the ghostly quiet of a pandemic-hit Aintree. This time, the coach-load of supporters from just down the road made sure there was nothing muted about the celebrations.

“It means everything, this one,” said a visibly emotional O’Shea.

“When Cousin Pascal won, there was no crowd, no roar. This time, we’re 15–20 miles down the road—we’ve brought our people, and they’ve seen something special.”

But it wasn’t just about proximity to the course. It was about perseverance.

“I’ve had a tough year—heart surgery in the summer—and my head girl, Anna, broke her back in a fall on the gallops. But even then, I kept telling her, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll win the Foxhunters.’”

And win it they did, with a horse who, in O’Shea’s own words, defies convention.

“He’s so fast,” he grinned, “he could play table tennis on his own!”

In a sport where fairytales are always one run away, Gracchus De Balme carved out his own—and gave Aintree one of its loudest roars of the week.

BetGoodwin

Fox Hunters' Chase
£50,000 guaranteed, 6yo plus, 2m 5f 19y, Class 2
29 ran
Going: Good to Soft

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1    Gracchus De Balme 9 12-0 J J O'Shea Mr Huw Edwards 22/1
2 1 Jet Plane 9 12-0 Dan Skelton Mr Jack Andrews 11/1
3 1¼ Lifetime Ambition 10 12-0 P M J Doyle Mr R James 5/1
4 1 My Drogo 10 12-0 Edward William Walker Mr William Biddick 5/1
5 5 A Jet Of Our Own 8 12-0 Matt Sheppard Mr Frederick Philipson-Stow 125/1
6 ½ Eva's Oskar 11 12-0 Tim Vaughan Mr Edward Vaughan 50/1
7 8½ Milan Forth 6 12-0 Adrian Murray Mr K P Healy 11/2
8 1 Autonomous Cloud 9 12-0 Fergal O'Brien Mr P A King 50/1
9 ¾ Annamix 12 12-0 W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins 11/1
10 6 Willitgoahead 7 12-0 Gordon Elliott Mr J L Scallan 4/1F
11 1¼ Bennys King 14 12-0 Dan Skelton Mr Sean O'Connor 25/1
12 hd Ontheropes 11 12-0 Thomas Mullins Mr C Mullins 28/1
13 17 Fix At All 9 12-0 Callum Bickers-Price Mr T Walsh 200/1
14 8 Senior Citizen 12 12-0 Alan Hill Mr Joshua Newman 66/1
15 nk Percussion 10 12-0 L J Morgan Mr Daniel Cherriman 66/1
16 6 Dorking Cock 11 12-0 S R B Crawford Mr S Connor 100/1
17 shd Bothwell Bridge 10 12-0 Kelly Morgan Miss Ellie Callwood 200/1
18 27 Go Go Geronimo 10 12-0 Kelly Morgan Mr Tom Chatfeild-Roberts 150/1
19 7½ Famous Clermont 10 12-0 C R Barber Mr James King 9/1
20 14 Frere d'Armes 8 12-0 Dan Skelton Miss Heidi Palin 66/1
21 7 Presentandcounting 11 12-0 Donald McCain Mr Derek O'Connor 40/1
22 22 Ramillies 10 12-0 D M Christie Mr B O'Neill 66/1
FELL Master Templar 10 12-0 Mrs G Andrews Miss Gina Andrews 125/1
FELL Joker De Mai 6 12-0 Harry Derham Mr David Maxwell 7/1
PU Yccs Portocervo 10 12-0 Dr Richard Newland & Jamie Insole Mr John Dawson 50/1
PU Willewonga 9 12-0 J J O'Shea Mr William Easterby 50/1
PU Pyleigh Court 10 12-0 R C Pudd Miss Ella Herbison 80/1
UR Bardenstown Lad 10 12-0 David Loughnane Mr E Mahon 100/1
UR Yippee Ki Yay 7 12-0 Matt Sheppard Mr Ivor Herbert 125/1
NR 7 Captain Tommy 11 12-0 Fred Timmis NON RUNNER

Odds catcher