Every Grand National winner teaches you something about what the race demands. Looking at the last five winners together produces a pattern that is more informative than any single race result. Here is what Nick Rockett, I Am Maximus, Corach Rambler, Noble Yeats and Minella Times have in common — and what those shared characteristics mean for Saturday.
Nick Rockett — 2025, 16/1
Patrick Mullins. Willie Mullins. A horse that won the Thyestes and the Bobbyjo in the season before targeting Aintree. Jumped cleanly throughout. Stayed on strongly. Came from off the pace. Not the pre-race favourite — I Am Maximus was. Won by two and a half lengths under a perfectly timed ride from a jockey who had been thinking about this race all week. Lesson: preparation, jockey intelligence and a manageable weight beat class under top weight.
I Am Maximus — 2024, 7/1
The favourite won. Paul Townend. Willie Mullins. A horse arriving fresh, specifically targeted at the race rather than having been through Cheltenham. Travelled menacingly throughout and won with authority. Lesson: when the favourite is genuinely fresh and the stable has pointed everything at this race, backing the market leader is not the mistake people assume it is.
Corach Rambler — 2023, 8/1
Lucinda Russell, Derek Fox. A horse with Scottish National form and a specific prep race designed for staying distance. Won in front of a partisan crowd on his first attempt at the race. Lesson: Scottish National form translates. A horse whose entire campaign has been built around one target is dangerous.
Noble Yeats — 2022, 50/1
Emmet Mullins. Sam Waley-Cohen riding for his father's horse in his final ride before retirement. A light weight, a staying profile and a specific preparation. Lesson: the Grand National produces 50/1 winners because the field is 34 horses, the fences are unique and the preparation factor matters more than the market price.
Minella Times — 2021, 11/1
Henry de Bromhead, Rachael Blackmore. The first female jockey to win the Grand National. A horse with Irish staying chase form and a trainer in the form of his life. Lesson: trainer momentum matters. A yard that is operating with confidence and precision places horses better than a yard going through the motions.
The Pattern
Five winners. Four trained in Ireland. All five had proven stamina at three miles or further. All five arrived fresh rather than on the back of a long Cheltenham campaign. All five had jockeys who understood the race and made tactical decisions in running. None carried top weight. The 2026 race will be won by a horse fitting most of these criteria. The question is which one.
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