Spanish Harlem: Willie Mullins Saddles Randox Owner’s Grand National Contender

Owned by the man whose company (Randox) puts its name on the race itself, Spanish Harlem arrives at Aintree as one of the most intriguing 33/1 chances in the field. A Kerry National winner with a catalogue of hard-luck stories, could this be the year it all comes together?

There is a certain symmetry to Spanish Harlem's presence in the 2026 Grand National. His owner, Dr Peter Fitzgerald, runs Randox, the healthcare company that sponsors the race. So in a very literal sense, Spanish Harlem's owner is paying for the race his horse is about to run in. If the horse was ever going to win a big one, it might as well be this one.

The racing record, though, tells a story that has not always gone to plan. At 50/1, Spanish Harlem arrives at Aintree rated as one of the longer shots in the field, and the form of his season suggests the market has been paying close attention.

A pulled-up run at Newbury. An unseating at Gowran Park when seemingly going well. Another pulled-up at Fairyhouse. On the surface, it looks bleak.

Look a little closer, and the picture gets more interesting.

A Horse Who Took His Time

Spanish Harlem came to Willie Mullins from France in the autumn of 2022, switching from trainer Gabriel Leenders with a reputation as a horse who had ability but had not yet found a way to express it consistently.

The early signs under Mullins were mixed. He placed in novice hurdles without winning, pulled up on his Cheltenham Festival debut in 2023, and spent a couple of seasons appearing to have the talent but not the temperament to string it all together.

It was not until he stepped into big-field handicap chasing over extreme distances that something clicked. Patrick Mullins, speaking in February, put it plainly: “He was very disappointing for a long time but extreme distances over fences has brought out the best in him.”

It took him fifteen starts in Britain and Ireland to record his first win for the stable, landing a Punchestown novice chase in June 2025. But what followed that breakthrough made the wait feel worthwhile.

The Kerry National Changed the Narrative

Listowel in September 2025 was where Spanish Harlem finally put everything together. In the Guinness Kerry National, an 18-runner handicap chase over three miles, he went off at 16/1 and did something that surprised even those who had followed him closely. He won, and won comfortably, by four and a half lengths from Three Card Brag, with French Dynamite a further seven lengths back.

Danny Mullins, who rode him that day, had made an early move to take the lead and the pair never looked like relinquishing it. When the Joseph O'Brien-trained San Salvador, who had been travelling strongly, exited the race at the third-last obstacle, Spanish Harlem simply stretched clear and came home without fuss.

Willie Mullins had been watching. “We pushed the boat out and bought this fellow in France a few years ago and it's taken a while for him to come to fruition,” the trainer said afterwards. “He seems to like nice ground, lots of jumping and three miles plus. To win these races you need lots of experience and he has lots of experience.” The Grand National, Mullins added, was exactly where he hoped the horse would end up.

A Season Full of Near Misses and Bad Luck

What happened next is where the 33/1 price starts to make more sense, but also where you need to read carefully between the lines.

In April 2025, at the Scottish Grand National at Ayr over four miles, Spanish Harlem was in contention when he was carried out before the fifteenth fence. Carried out, not fallen. Another horse took him wide and out of the race. His jockey Brian Hayes had no say in the matter.

At Newbury in November, he ran in the Coral Gold Cup carrying 11st 10lb over three miles and two furlongs on good-to-soft ground. He pulled up.

Then in January at Gowran Park’s Thyestes Chase, he unseated his rider at the last when still in with a chance, having led for much of the race. Patrick Mullins, assessing the season, described it as unlucky: “He was unlucky in the Thyestes, which is a great Grand National trial.”

The pulled-up run at Fairyhouse's Bobbyjo Chase in February on heavy ground completed a difficult winter. But a pattern emerged across these runs: extreme weight, unsuitable ground, or plain bad luck rather than a horse who had simply lost his way.

Does He Fit the Grand National Winner's Profile?

At eight years old, Spanish Harlem sits in the sweet spot for National winners. The age profile over the past twenty years points strongly to horses between eight and ten, with nine the strongest of all. He is on the right side of that curve.

The weight of 11st 3lb sits comfortably within the range that has produced the majority of recent winners, which is encouraging. He is not carrying a penalty that would make the task unreasonable, and the Kerry National showed he can handle a big weight with plenty in hand.

On recent form, the picture is murkier. The ideal profile calls for a horse to have finished in the top four last time out, and his Fairyhouse pulled-up does not satisfy that. However, there was encouragement in the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park in January, where he looked to have the race at his mercy before unseating his rider.

What he does have in his favour is the distance. He has shown at Listowel and previously at Ayr that he is a horse who gets better the further he goes, and the Grand National's four miles and two furlongs is exactly the kind of test that suits his profile.

The jumping, however, remains a concern. Willie Mullins noted after the Kerry National that the horse had made one or two mistakes and that ironing those out could make him a player on the bigger stage.

The Aintree fences demand a higher standard of accuracy than almost anywhere else, and a horse who is prone to the occasional error will need to be at his sharpest.

The Case for Taking a Chance

Spanish Harlem is not a horse you can confidently back to win the Grand National, and the price of 33/1 reflects the uncertainty that surrounds him.

But the Kerry National performance was genuine. The Ayr and Gowran runs were not his fault. The distance is right, the age is right, and the weight is manageable. Patrick Mullins summed up the situation with quiet confidence: “That horse has been trained to get there.”

The Grand National is the kind of race where things can go right for a horse that has spent a season having things go wrong.

At 33/1, there are worse reasons to have him on your side for a small each-way interest. If the jumping holds up and the luck turns, he is capable of running a big race.

And if he did win, the man who puts his name on the trophy would be handing it to himself.