Leading Confirmations for Grand National
I Am Maximus and Nick Rockett, the winners of the past two Grand Nationals, headline the confirmations for the 2026 race scheduled for Saturday at Aintree. Both horses are trained by Willie Mullins and secured victories in 2024 and 2025 respectively. They also top the weights for the upcoming renewal.
Owned by JP McManus, I Am Maximus won the 2024 Grand National by seven and a half lengths. Last year, he finished second, two and a half lengths behind Nick Rockett, who won under the guidance of Mullins' son, Patrick.
Currently, 49 entries remain for the race, with a maximum of 34 runners expected to compete on race day. The final field and four reserves will be announced on Wednesday.
JP McManus aims to secure a record fourth Grand National victory. His leading contenders include Iroko and Jagwar, both trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero. Additionally, Johnnywho is assured a place following withdrawals at the five-day stage.
I Am Maximus is attempting to become the first horse to win carrying top weight since the legendary Red Rum in the 1970s. Meanwhile, Nick Rockett seeks to replicate Tiger Roll's achievement of consecutive wins in 2018 and 2019; the last horse to do so before Tiger Roll was Red Rum.
Race commentary and reactions will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live and , with live text updates for all Saturday races on the website and app. Additionally, 5 Sports Extra will provide commentary for Friday's races from 14:00 to 16:15 BST.
Grand National: Weights and Entries for 2026
Several horses, including L'Homme Presse, French Dynamite, and Now Is The Hour, were withdrawn on Monday. Three other horses below the cut-off line were also scratched.
The field is expected to be dominated once again by Irish trainer Willie Mullins, a three-time Grand National winner who currently has nine horses guaranteed to run. Alongside I Am Maximus and Nick Rockett, Mullins' entries include last year's third-placed Grangeclare West, Spanish Harlem, Lecky Watson, Champ Kiely, High Class Hero, Captain Cody, and Quai De Bourbon.
Gordon Elliott, another trainer with three National wins, has five entries. His top-weighted horses include Gerri Colombe, Firefox, and Favori De Champdou, who was the beaten favourite in the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Another Elliott-trained horse, Pied Piper, is currently 35th on the list and will participate if one more withdrawal occurs.
Ben Pauling's Twig is the final guaranteed runner. Spillane's Tower remains entered at this stage despite the owner indicating to RTE on Sunday that the horse is intended to run in Thursday's Aintree Bowl instead. Firefox is also entered in Friday's Topham Chase over the Grand National fences.
Henry de Bromhead, who won the race in 2021 with Rachael Blackmore and Minella Times, trains Monty's Star and Gorgeous Tom. Gavin Cromwell's entries include Perceval Legallois, who fell last year, and Cheltenham Festival winner Final Orders.
Dan Skelton will be represented by the mare Panic Attack as he approaches the UK trainers' championship for the first time.
The Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies stable will run Beauport, carrying the colours of Bryan and Philippa Burrough, whose Corbiere won the race in 1983 when Jenny Pitman became the first female trainer to triumph. Nigel Twiston-Davies is a two-time winner of the Grand National (1998 and 2022) and the stable will also enter Top of the Bill, who moved into the top 34 following Monday's withdrawals.
Fourteen-time British champion trainer Paul Nicholls has no entries for this year's race. Nicky Henderson, who has yet to win the National, is also likely to have no runners, with Hyland currently 41st on the list.
