Grand National field ‘stands out’ in 2026 with elite runners and promising underdogs

The unveiling of the weights for the 2026 Grand National started with a montage of clips from 50 years ago, when the world’s most famous steeplechase was at its lowest ebb, the crowd had dipped below 10,000 and the track was odds-on to be sold off for housing. It was, as Ruby Walsh pointed out on the voiceover, a reminder of how the National has been revived and transformed.

A glance back no further than the 2011 Grand National, however, also offers clear evidence of how much the great race has changed, even in the space of 15 years. The field, of course, is now down to a maximum of 34, rather than the 40 runners that we all grew up with, but it is the depth of quality in the names, ratings and weights that were published on Tuesday that stands out.

The bottom weights in 2011 raced off a rating of 138. The 34th name on the list for 2026 – ie, the last horse guaranteed a run – is Jagwar, on 152, and while a rating of 144 might well get you an outing on 11 April it is far from guaranteed. And although Don’t Push It, the eventual top weight in 2011, raced off a mark of 160, the top dozen in this year’s handicap are all rated 160 or above.

“This year’s race really stands out in terms of quality,” Martin Greenwood, the handicapper responsible for setting the weights, said on Tuesday. “Although entries are slightly down overall [to 78 from 90 in 2025], it’s at the bottom end, where trainers are now realising there is no point in entering as they have no chance of getting in.”

From one year to the next, the depth of quality in the Grand National has been increasing, and that has been reflected in the results, with the best horses increasingly shrugging off burdens of 11st or more to come to the fore. Nick Rockett, who led home a 1-2-3 for Willie Mullins 12 months ago, carried 11st 8lb, while I Am Maximus, the 2024 winner, finished second under 11st 12lb, and Grangeclare West was next over the line with 11st 8lb.

A triumphant Patrick Mullins on Nick Rockett in 2025. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Some will argue that the race has changed so thoroughly that it no longer bears comparison with the Grand National back in “the good old days”. They point out that the trip has been cut along with the numbers, and complain that the fences are too soft and the outcomes are all too predictable.

On the latter point, though, the form book suggests otherwise, with winners at 50-1 and 33-1 in the last four years alone. And while there will always be those who feel that a race without a steady series of fallers is not a “proper” National, the easier fences have led to several runnings where as many as two dozen are still in with a chance as they cross the Melling Road for the final time. For a once-a-year TV audience keeping track of their sweepstake entries – and, perhaps, being introduced to racing for the first time – that can only add hugely to the excitement and spectacle.

It is true that there is a certain uniformity about the names attached to many of the leading contenders. The biggest Irish stables now dominate the National entries, as they do at Cheltenham next month, and Mullins alone has 10 of the top 34 in the weights.

However, there is still room too for the kind of windmill-tilting by the smaller yards that has always been the National’s stock in trade.

Mr Vango, already among the most popular chasers in training, is guaranteed a run for Sara Bradstock’s stable having narrowly missed out last year. “We’ve got to get enough rain,” Bradstock said on Tuesday, “but otherwise we’re obviously very much looking forward to what he’s good at, which is jumping and stamina. He’s a great big horse to carry weight, so we’re delighted to get a chance if the ground comes.”

Oscars Brother, meanwhile, needs another run to qualify but is 24th on the list if he can and will bid to make 27-year-old Connor King, who has just two horses at his stable in County Kildare, the youngest winning trainer in National history.

Oscars Brother attracted some early money in the betting on Tuesday, down to around 33-1 from an early 40-1, but Iroko, fourth when favourite as a seven-year-old 12 months ago, is again a clear market leader, at a top price of 7-1.

Iroko is one of just three runners at 16-1 or shorter in the early betting, with I Am Maximus on offer at 12-1 to become the first top-weight to win since Red Rum in the 1970s and Haiti Couleurs, the Welsh Grand National winner, next at 16-1.

Sean Bowen rides Haiti Couleurs clear to win the Welsh Grand National last December. Photograph: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Nick Rockett (25-1) is running out of time to get a qualifying run if he is to attempt to repeat last year’s win, but Grangeclare West (25-1) is on course to return to Aintree while another runner from the Mullins yard, Spanish Harlem, is an interesting contender for his owner, Peter FitzGerald, the founder of Randox, the race sponsor for the last 10 years.

The eight-year-old looked the likely winner of the Thyestes Chase, often a significant Grand National trial, in January before unseating his inexperienced jockey at the last, and could offer some early value at around 40-1.

“He was very disappointing for a long time, but extreme distances over fences has brought out the best in him,” Patrick Mullins, last year’s winning rider and his father’s assistant, said on Tuesday.

“The profile is right in my book and I don’t see why he won’t take to the fences, he’s got plenty of experience and jumps well. I know he can throw in the odd clanger, but sometimes those horses can just have a little bit more respect for a new type of fence.”