Horse in Profile: Now Is The Hour

The weather gods have been kind to us this spring which made Aintree's Grand National an even more stunning spectacle but with the good spell about to end, there could be colder spells and plenty of showers between now and the Irish Grand National.

One horse who will appreciate any rain in the coming days is Gavin Cromwell's Now Is The Hour. The gelding was arguably an unlucky loser at the Cheltenham Festival last time out and is primed for his next target at Fairyhouse.

The early years

Now Is The Hour was picked up for €30,000 by Derek O'Connor in 2020. The son of Westerner won a Cragmore point-to-point by 30 lengths on his first run in 2023 before finishing runner-up behind the classy Asian Master at Belclare.

It took him a while to get a hang of things under rules but on his third outing at Limerick, he showed plenty of promise in the maiden when a faller at the last when in full control of the race.

He made up for that next time when winning a 2m4f maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse, before obliterating his rivals in a Grade 2 at Haydock over 3m on heavy ground.

Attention turns to chasing

Now Is The Hour has had just five starts over fences to date so is still unexposed in this discipline. It was evident that he was being primed for a tilt at the Cheltenham Festival this season, so it was no surprise to see his early-season form prove to be disappointing.

A distant sixth behind Ile Atlantique at Navan in December, he was well beaten in a 3m Punchestown beginners' next time but started to show marked improvement when beaten four lengths behind Three Card Brag in January at Navan.

Now revved up for a tilt at the 3m6f National Hunt Novices' Handicap Chase at Cheltenham, a race that he was heavily backed for, Now Is The Hour was finishing off his race really well but departed two out when two lengths off the leader. It really is a case of what might have been but he arguably would have won if he stayed on his feet.

Irish Grand National next up

Connections will probably be seething as it seems Now Is The Hour's entire season revolved around being primed for that Cheltenham race, but now they have the horse in tip-top shape, he could take a lot of beating in the Irish Grand National.

The Fairyhouse Easter Festival feature will be a very competitive affair but with a rating of 141, he ought to be running from a nice weight. As long as the ground isn't on the fast side, he should act fine in any conditions.

This is a race that has thrown up some surprise winners in recent years, notably Dermot McLoughlin winning it back-to-back with 150/1 winner Freewheelin Dylan in 2021 and 40/1 winner Lord Lariat a year on, but Now Is The Hour could go off favourite for this.