The 2025 Aintree Grand National Meeting kicks off in style with an excellent seven-race card on Thursday, 3rd of April. The Grade 1 quartet of the Manifesto Novices’ Chase, Boodles Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle, Aintree Bowl, and Aintree Hurdle top the bill from a class perspective, whilst one of the most popular betting heats arrives in the shape of this 2m5f contest over the famous Grand National fences.
First run in 1947 and restricted to Hunter Chase performers, the Foxhunters is the first of three opportunities at the Grand National Meeting to see the runners tackling The Chair, Canal Turn, Becher’s Brook and co.
Initially held over the full Grand National distance of 4m2½f, these days, the race takes place over the same trip as the Topham Chase on Day 2 of the Grand National Meeting and is run under level weights conditions.
Invariably attracting a 20+ runner field, the Foxhunters can be a tricky puzzle to unravel, with four of the past seven editions falling to a runner with an SP of 16/1 or bigger, including 66/1 chance Cousin Pascal in 2021. Here, we attempt to find a little clarity by looking at the ten editions between 2014 and 2024 (no race in 2020 due to the global pandemic). Read on to discover the strongest Foxhunter trends and our best trends-based bets for 2025.
Look For Runners Arriving in Form
The first thing to note here is that a horse must have finished 1st-3rd in a hunter’s chase on two occasions or one occasion, provided they have won a standard chase or Open Point-to-Point. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that nine of the past ten winners had posted a top 3 effort on their most recent outing.
Given the race stipulations, we didn’t expect to make too many inroads with this stat, but it does help trim the field from 37 down to 26.
Stays Further
Whilst not as demanding as Cheltenham, 2m5f around Aintree does take a bit of getting, particularly as the large field size lends itself to a strongly run race. Recent results suggest that a proven ability to stay further than 2m5f is an advantage. With nine of the past ten winners having previously scored at 3m+, we will use this as our next filter.
Four bite the dust at this stage, bringing us down to 22.
Reached a Rating of 135 or Above
The Foxhunters tends to attract an eclectic cast of performers, ranging from those campaigned predominantly in the Point to Point and Hunter Chase spheres to formerly classy sorts who have switched to hunter-chasing later in their career.
The past ten editions have been claimed by horses with ratings in the 110s, 120s, 130s, and 140s. However, it is interesting to note that nine of the ten winners achieved a chase rating of 135 or above at some stage in their careers.
Applying this filter brings us down to a dozen.
Recent Run an Advantage
Turning up at the Foxhunters’ without the benefit of a relatively recent run appears to be a disadvantage. Nine of the ten winners in our sample had run within the last 40 days, with the St. James’s Place contest at the Cheltenham Festival (five winners) being the most common route to the race.
Focusing on those arriving following a break of 40 days or less reduces the field to nine.
Lightly Raced in Sphere
As a non-handicap event, lightly raced runners don’t have the same potential to have something up their sleeve from the assessor. Nevertheless, recent results have favoured those runners with fewer starts in the Hunter Chase sphere, with seven of the past ten winners having eight or fewer such outings. Two fall down at this stage, reducing our shortlist to seven.
9-12 the Preferred Age Range
The Foxhunters' is open to runners aged six and older, but only one so young has ever come home in front. At the other end of the spectrum, Hillmere spectacularly defied Father Time to claim the 1950 edition at seventeen. In recent years, 9-12-year-olds hold the edge, with eight of our 10 winners falling into that bracket.
Just one runner falls outside our preferred age range as we reach our final six.
The Final Six
With the remaining trends failing to make a dent in our half-dozen shortlist, we will take a closer look at the final six to make our selections.
Autonomous Cloud, 40/1 with Betfred - Nine-year-old rated 135 in his pomp. No experience of Grand National fences. Dual winner over 3m. All wins on soft or worse going
Dorking Cock, 40/1 with Betfred - Eleven year old with a peak rating of 136. Twelfth in the 2023 edition of this and Unseated in the 2023 Becher. A three-time winner at 2m5f+. All chase wins on soft or worse going.
Eva’s Oskar, 25/1 with Betfred - Eleven year old with a peak rating of 143. Unseated in 2023 Grand National. Eight-time winner at 2m5f+. Has won on ground ranging from good to heavy
Lifetime Ambition, 6/1 with bet365 - Ten year old with a peak rating of 158. Fourth in 2022 Grand Sefton, Unseated in 2023 Grand National. Seven-time winner at 3m+. Handles all ground.
Percussion, 25/1 with bet365 - Ten year old with a peak rating of 136. Form figures of 33237 over the Grand National fences. Dual winner at 3m+. Has won on good and heavy going.
Presentandcounting, 33/1 with bet365 - Eleven year old with a peak rating of 147. No experience of Grand National fences. A five-time winner at 2m5f+. All chase wins on good to soft or better.
With the great British weather being unpredictable at the best of times, we are always reluctant to side with ground-dependent performers in advance of the race. As such, Autonomous Cloud, Dorking Cock, and Presentandcounting are worth bearing in mind on the day of the race but aren't for us at this stage.
Of those who remain, Lifetime Ambition is the clear selection to our eyes. That peak rating of 158 stands out a mile, and he has handled the fences well in two previous attempts (the unseat in the 2023 National was through no fault of his own). Arriving on the back of successive Point-to-Point wins, his most recent Hunter Chase outing saw him finish second to the 2024 winner of this, Its On the Line.
Given those solid form figures over the fences, Percussion is sure to prove popular each way. However, we prefer to take a chance on Eva’s Oskar. This Tim Vaughan runner also travelled nicely before being badly hampered in the 2023 National and caught the eye when rallying well for second in a Hunter Chase at Catterick last time out.
Recommended Bet - Lifetime Ambition to win @ 6/1 with bet365
Recommended Bet - Eva’s Oskar each way @ 25/1 with Betfred
Our Top UK Betting Sites for the 2025 Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase
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Paul Harrison
Falling in love with racing at a young age, Paul’s passion for sports and betting took him to Salford University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with Gambling Studies. Having spent ten years in the employment of a leading bookmaker, Paul opted to go it alone and pursue his dream job as a freelance writer.
