Grand National 2026: I Am Maximus & Nick Rockett head confirmations for Aintree race
L’Homme Presse, French Dynamite and Now Is The Hour were canceled on Monday, while the other three below the cut line were also scratched.
The field will again be dominated by Irish trainer Mullins and the three-time winner currently has nine horses guaranteed to run.
I Am Maximus and Nick Rockett are joined by last year’s third place winners Grangeclare West, Spanish Harlem, Lecky Watson, Champ Kiely, High Class Hero, Captain Cody and Quai De Bourbon.
Gordon Elliott, who also trained three National winners, has five entries towards the top of the weights with Gerri Colombe, Firefox and Favorite De Champdou, the beaten favorite for the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
Another of Elliott’s stables, Pied Piper, is currently ranked 35th on the list and will enter the race if one more horse is withdrawn.
While the Ben Pauling-trained Twig is the final guaranteed runner-up, Spillane’s Tower maintained his entry at this stage despite his owner telling RTE on Sunday he planned to be the runner-up at Thursday’s Aintree Bowl.
Firefox is also accessible via the Grand National fences at Topham on Friday.
Henry de Bromhead, who won the race with Rachael Blackmore and Minella Times in 2021, trains Monty’s Star and Gorgeous Tom.
Gavin Cromwell trains last year’s unsuccessful Perceval Legallois and Cheltenham Festival winner Final Order.
Dan Skelton will be represented by the filly Panic Attack as he approaches the British trainers’ championship for the first time.
Trained by Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies, Beauport will carry the colors of Bryan and Philippa Burrough; Corbiere achieved this victory in 1983 when Jenny Pitman became the first female coach to achieve the victory.
Nigel has won the race twice, in 1998 and 2022, and the stable will also replace Top of the Bill, who moved into the top 34 with Monday’s withdrawals.
Fourteen-time British champion trainer Paul Nicholls has no involvement, while Nicky Henderson, who is yet to win the National, is likely to have no runners either, with Hyland currently sitting 41st on the list.
