Nick Rockett: Can the Defending Champion Win the 2026 Grand National?

Every Grand National tells a story. The 2025 story belonged to Nick Rockett and Patrick Mullins - Willie's son delivering a perfectly timed ride on an Irish raider that the market had underestimated throughout the week. He held off stablemate I Am Maximus to win by two and a half lengths. Now the defending champion returns to Aintree on April 11th carrying the weight of a different kind of expectation. The 2025 Win Nick Rockett's Grand National victory was a masterclass in race reading. Patrick Mullins - one of the most accomplished amateur jockeys in the sport - positioned the horse patiently through the first circuit, moved smoothly into contention on the second and produced him at exactly the right moment approaching the final fences. The winning margin of two and a half lengths over top-weighted I Am Maximus flattered the favourite slightly - Nick Rockett was always holding him - but the performance was authoritative rather than fortunate. The key to understanding the win was the weight difference. I Am Maximus carried 11st 12lb. Nick Rockett carried a significantly lighter burden, meaning the combination of ability and weight advantage produced the result the handicapper had designed without quite expecting to materialise. The Absence Nick Rockett has not raced since his Aintree win in April 2025. That is almost exactly twelve months off the track. For a nine-year-old chaser returning from a year's absence to defend a Grand National crown, the fitness question is genuine and unavoidable. Returning champions face a specific challenge at Aintree. The National fences require confidence and rhythm from horse and jockey - qualities that are sharpest when a horse has had race-sharpening runs in the weeks before. A twelve-month absence means Nick Rockett will be running into full fitness on the biggest stage rather than arriving already at his peak. Willie Mullins has managed horses back from long absences successfully before, but the question is always whether the first run back over National fences is the ideal return. The Case For Him His Aintree course form is unimpeachable - he won the race. He knows the fences. He knows what the experience feels like. His trainer is the most accomplished National operator of the current era. His jockey - Patrick Mullins, if confirmed - won the race on him once and has the tactical intelligence to manage a horse whose sharpness may build through the race rather than be at its peak from the off. At current prices, he is available around 14/1 to 16/1 - bigger than the favourite but significantly shorter than the big-price each-way angles. He is the definition of a horse to respect without necessarily backing at the top of your staking range. Horse Racing Oracle AI will factor Nick Rockett's absence, course form and weight into its full Grand National analysis on declarations day Wednesday April 8th. Watch the blog. Want free AI-powered tips every morning? Sign up free at horseracingoracleai.com -> Betting involves risk. Please gamble responsibly. Visit BeGambleAware.org.