I Am Maximus and Nick Rockett – the past two winners of the Grand National – head the field for Saturday’s race at Aintree.
The pair, both trained by Willie Mullins, won the race in 2024 and 2025 respectively and top the weights for the 2026 renewal.
I Am Maximus, owned by JP McManus, triumphed by seven-and-a-half lengths in 2024, before finishing two-and-a-half lengths behind Nick Rockett, who was victorious under Mullins’ son Patrick last year.
Jockey Paul Townend has stuck with I Am Maximus, while Patrick Mullins has jumped off Nick Rockett for Grangeclare West.
Tom Bellamy, who picked up his first Cheltenham Festival winner last month, has picked up the ride on Nick Rockett.
A maximum of 34 runners have been declared for Saturday’s showpiece, with six horses waiting in reserve.
The reserves are Pied Piper, Imperial Saint, Amirite, Ain’t That A Shame, Deep Cave and Buddy One – they will get runs if there are any non-runners before 13:00 BST on Friday.
McManus is seeking a record fourth victory in the race and has leading hopefuls Iroko and Jagwar – both trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero.
Johnnywho is another runner for McManus, alongside Spillane’s Tower, who also holds an entry for the Aintree Bowl on Thursday so may yet drop out of the National.
Oscars Brother and Perceval Legallois, who will be ridden by Harry Cobden after falling last year, are also representing McManus.
I Am Maximus is bidding to become the first horse to carry top weight to victory since triple winner Red Rum in the 1970s.
Nick Rockett will attempt to match Tiger Roll’s feat of back-to-back wins in 2018 and 2019. The previous horse to do that was Red Rum.
