THE WEIGHTS for the 2026 Randox Grand National have been revealed, and as ever, they paint a fascinating picture of how the race could unfold come April. With some of the biggest names in jump racing handed the heaviest burdens, anyone looking for an Aintree Grand National bet will want to study these allocations carefully. Weight has shaped the outcome of this race more times than we can count across its 180-year history.
I Am Maximus — 11st 12lb
Willie Mullins’ superstar heads the weights for the second consecutive year. The 2024 Grand National winner returns to Aintree carrying the dreams of a nation on his back, quite literally. At 11st 12lb, he faces a task that only one horse in modern history has managed.
Red Rum, who famously carried big weights to multiple victories in the 1970s, remains the only top weight to win the race in the modern era. Mullins will know better than anyone what he has on his hands, and I Am Maximus ran valiantly when finishing second in 2025, only beaten by his stablemate.
Whether the burden of top weight proves the difference once again, or whether he can finally defy it, will be one of the defining storylines of the 2026 renewal.
Banbridge — 11st 11lb
Joseph O’Brien’s Banbridge arrives at this race having proven himself one of the finest staying chasers of his generation. A Grade 1 performer who won the King George VI Chase at Kempton in 2024, he has an undeniable preference for better ground, something O’Brien has never hidden.
That caveat makes his participation somewhat weather-dependent, with connections likely to keep Cheltenham options open before committing to Aintree. If the ground comes up in his favour on April 11, he will arrive as a very serious contender indeed.
Nick Rockett — 11st 11lb
The defending champion carries 11st 11lb, one pound less than I Am Maximus, despite having beaten him last year. It is a curious quirk of the weights, with the handicapper clearly feeling I Am Maximus’s overall profile demands slightly more respect than the horse who beat him in the world’s greatest race.
Nick Rockett, also trained by Mullins and ridden to victory last April by the trainer’s son Patrick, will be seeking to join a very select group of back-to-back Grand National winners. The weight rise that comes with victory makes that task harder, but Nick Rockett showed last year that he is no ordinary horse, and Mullins has spoken enthusiastically about returning to Aintree with him.
Gerri Colombe — 11st 10lb
Gordon Elliott saddles one of the most intriguing contenders in the top weights with Gerri Colombe, a former Gold Cup contender who has always looked like a horse tailor-made for this test. His jumping is bold, his stamina is unquestioned, and he has experience of performing at the highest level in big-field chases.
Owned by the Robcour operation, which has long had National ambitions, a clean round at Aintree could make Gerri Colombe extremely dangerous.
The 11st 10lb Group
Grangeclare West, Grey Dawning and Haiti Couleurs all shoulder 11st 10lb alongside Gerri Colombe, creating a fascinating cluster at that weight. Grangeclare West, another trained by Mullins, has already shown what he can do at Aintree. He finished third behind his stablemates in last year’s renewal, which represents a strong platform from which to go one better.
Grey Dawning, trained by Dan Skelton, won the Betfair Chase and represents arguably the most exciting British-trained contender in the field. Haiti Couleurs, trained in Wales by Rebecca Curtis, arrives having already won the Irish and Welsh Grand Nationals, and completing the hat-trick with the Aintree version would be one of racing’s great stories.
— For those seeking Grand National tips, the top of the weights is always a revealing place to start, not necessarily because these horses win most often, but because their presence shapes how the race is run and how the market develops. Historically, the winners have tended to emerge from just below the top weights, horses carrying enough to suggest quality but not so much as to make the task feel insurmountable across 30 fences.
Article written by Tom Nicholls
