Image © Healy Racing
The Rebecca Curtis-trained Haiti Couleurs captured the Grade 3 showpiece at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday, delivering an impressive performance in the famous race. The eight-year-old had previously been trained by Harley Dunne, who played a key role in the gelding's early journey.
Amateur rider Dunne, who has 102 winners to his credit in the saddle, launched his training career in 2020 and has since saddled 24 winners from his stables in Clonroche.
Initially offered at the 2020 Tattersalls Store Sale, Haiti Couleurs failed to sell and was subsequently sent to Dunne by Luke Cummins.
“I always liked him. He was very weak as a four-year-old,” recalled Dunne.
“He was a very tall horse, and he was very narrow, so we didn’t get much done in the springtime.”
The Dragon Dancer-sired gelding had a promising introduction to racing when finishing fourth to Making Country in a four-year-old contest at Turtulla in November 2021.
“We gave him a run at Turtulla and he finished fourth, beaten 19 lengths. He was always going to need the run.
“That year the ground was very hard and we didn’t get him away enough.”
Having just one more outing for Dunne, in a hotly-contested maiden at Borris House, the Tiernan Power Roche-ridden Haiti Couleurs showed good improvement and put up a game performance to finish second, one length behind Path D’Oroux, with the pair drawing 15 lengths clear of the third placed John The Diva.
“He ran a big race at Borris House, but just bumped into a good one. They pulled a long way clear of the third,” said Dunne.
“Obviously, it would have been nice to win, but once the horse runs well, is placed, and has done his job. He can go on and do his job for the next man.
“He was very weak when I had him, he wasn’t the finished article at all. He was always going to take time.”
A seventh foal out of a flat mare Inchala, the French-bred Haiti Couleurs was purchased for £68,000 by Welsh trainer Rebecca Curtis at the Tattersalls Cheltenham January Sale in 2022.
“We went over to Cheltenham in January. I recommended him to everyone and Rebecca believed us. So I’m delighted, she’s after being rewarded now.”
The lightly-raced bay, who runs in the colours of The Brizzle Boys syndicate, did not make his racecourse debut for Curtis until December 2023 when he finished second in a novice hurdle. He has continued to progress steadily, winning six of his eleven starts and finishing in the first four placings in the other five. On his penultimate start, he was very impressive when winning the Princess Royal National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase on the opening day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
One of the market leaders beforehand, Haiti Couleurs was strongly fancied by connections for the Irish Grand National and was sent off at odds of 13/2. Despite visibly sweating-up in the preliminaries, the bay jumped off at the head of affairs and travelled very sweetly throughout under British Champion Jockey-elect Sean Bowen. He jumped impeccably, and stayed-on well on the run-in to score with ease by three-and-a-quarter lengths ahead of the evergreen Any Second Now.
Dunne wasn’t in attendance at Fairyhouse on Monday to join the celebrations, as he travelled to Loughanmore point-to-point with a runner, but was thrilled with the result.
“Anytime I met Rebecca, I would ask her how he was going, and she always said he was flying.”
Haiti Couleurs becomes just the fourth non-Irish-trained winner of the Grand National in the past two decades. He follows the footsteps of Shutthefrontdoor (2014), Niche Market (2009) and Butler’s Cabin (2007).
Dunne, who recently welcomed his first child, Daithi, with fiancée Ashling, currently has around 30 horses under his care. He has already notched two winners this season, including the smart-looking Belclare four-year-old maiden victor Ash Hobbs.
Owned by Dunne and Ashling, the Jack Hobbs-sired mare was later sold for £170,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale.
“She’s very very good, She could be something very special that lady,” said Dunne.
“I’m very pleased at the way things are going. I haven’t had a lot of winners, but a lot of them have been placed and sold on.”
