Gibney happy to handle Intense pressure of training National favourite

Trainer Tom Gibney is doing his best to keep his feet on the ground as he puts the finishing touches to his Randox Grand National favourite Intense Raffles.

With the world’s most famous steeplechase now less than a fortnight away, Gibney opened his doors to the media on Tuesday morning to celebrate the launch of the 2025 Boylesports Irish Grand National, a race the County Meath handler won for a second time with Intense Raffles last season.

The Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned grey won his first two starts in Ireland at Fairyhouse after being switched from France – and 12 years after landing the Easter Monday feature with Lion Na Bearnai, Gibney admits hopes were high his new stable star could repeat the feat.

“I was confident he would run very well, we genuinely would have been very disappointed if he wasn’t there or thereabouts,” he said.

“Everything fell into place as you’d really like it to, which doesn’t happen that often, but when it does, it’s a lovely feeling. You could just feel that everything was going right.

“It gave us confidence that he’d been round Fairyhouse before. He’d been there twice and won there twice and loves the place – I love it myself!

“In the Irish National, he did what he’d done the previous two times there and it was just like clockwork. The whole thing went very smoothly and we enjoyed every bit of it.

“It was brilliant for Simon and Isaac to send us a horse as we’re a small outfit here and it kind of goes against the trend of the current state of affairs in racing in Ireland and England over jumps. It was a big shout from them and it was a fantastic feeling that it was worthwhile and worked out.”

The Irish Grand National has a good record of producing subsequent Aintree heroes, with Bobbyjo, Numbersixvalverde and I Am Maximus all doing the double in the last 30 years.

Intense Raffles was well beaten on his first two starts of this season over hurdles at Navan, but a close second to Nick Rockett in Fairyhouse’s Bobbyjo Chase appears to have put him spot-on for April 5.

Gibney added: “I wasn’t in great humour leaving Navan either day as I genuinely did think he’d run well and was genuinely disappointed, particularly the second day.

“The first day I thought he might need the run and I was happy enough, but the second day I was disappointed. I thought he’d be well fit to compete there and he wasn’t. I went home scratching my head, so I was nervous.

“It was a relief to see him back to his old self in the Bobbyjo.”

One of less than 30 horses currently residing at Gibney’s yard, Intense Raffles is as short as 5-1 with some firms for National glory.

Asked whether he can believe he trains the favourite for the Aintree spectacular, Gibney said: “I suppose I can in a way, but it’s a nice feeling. Hopefully he’ll run like a favourite!

“I’d prefer to have the favourite rather than a 50-1 shot all day long. He doesn’t know he’s favourite and we just do the same thing – and if it works great, and if it doesn’t, what about it.”

On whether he is feeling nervous, he added: “I don’t know, on and off. You’re preparing for so long and I’m actually kind of relieved to get this far.

“I don’t know how he’ll take to Aintree, you know as much as I do on that score. We haven’t schooled him over the National fences yet, they only put them up at the end of last week I think, so we’ll hopefully go down this week and pop them at the Curragh.”

While Aintree is clearly at the forefront of his mind, Gibney also has one eye on winning a third Irish Grand National on April 21.

This year’s candidate is the lightly-raced Kinturk Kalanisi, who unseated his rider on his most recent appearance at Navan but had previously shown a decent level of form over hurdles and over fences.

Gibney said: “It is 100 per cent the plan to go. We thought the last day if we got in the first three we’d get a few pounds for our troubles and maybe guarantee us a place in the Irish National.

“It will be nervous waiting to see whether we do get in or not, but we’ve had it in mind with him since he ran in that novice handicap hurdle there (Fairyhouse) last year. He finished third, we figured he might improve for going over fences and he has.”