If you are trying to find a Willie Mullins runner for the Grand National and you have not yet settled on one, Grangeclare West is worth a closer look.
He finished third at Aintree last year and won the Bobbyjo Chase, the race that has produced the last two National winners. At around 8/1, he is third in the market, but the case for him is arguably stronger than that price suggests.
It is worth pausing on the trainer for a moment, because the scale of his recent dominance at Aintree is unlike anything the Grand National has seen before. Nick Rockett won in 2025. I Am Maximus won in 2024.
In the 2025 race, Mullins trained the first three horses home in a 34-runner field. When people talk about following the Mullins yard for the National, it is not superstition. It is simply what the form book says.
Grangeclare West is owned by Cheveley Park Stud and has been with Mullins since the start of his career.
That combination means this horse has been aimed at the biggest races from day one, and sent to Aintree with every expectation of running a serious race rather than simply making up the numbers.
He Has Already Done It At Aintree
Perhaps the most important thing to know about Grangeclare West heading into 2026 is that he has already run in the Grand National and came away with a third-place finish.
In April 2025, sent off at 33/1 and largely ignored by the wider public, he jumped the Aintree fences well for most of the race before making an error at the last. Even so, he picked himself up and held on for third place.
The Grand National has a habit of exposing horses who look the part on paper but cannot handle the unique demands of the race on the day, and Grangeclare West came through that examination comfortably enough.
He goes back to Aintree in 2026 knowing the fences, knowing the trip, and having shown he stays every yard of it.
The Trial That Keeps Producing Winners
Six weeks before the Grand National, there is a race at Fairyhouse in Ireland called the Bobbyjo Chase.
The last two horses to win it went on to win the National: I Am Maximus in 2024, Nick Rockett in 2025. On 21 February this year, Grangeclare West won the Bobbyjo Chase.
He won it well. Paul Townend, the jockey who rode I Am Maximus to National glory two years ago, tracked the field from the back before picking off his rivals on the run-in, surviving a moment of anxiety at the final fence before drawing clear by five and a half lengths.
Townend was typically understated afterward, describing his horse simply as “a class animal.”
The win prompted a sharp market reaction, with his odds cut overnight from 20/1 to 10/1. He has since settled at around 8/1 or 9/1, making him the fourth-best fancied horse in the field behind Jagwar, Panic Attack, and I Am Maximus.
What He Needs To Win
No horse wins the Grand National without some good fortune along the way. The field is large, the fences are unlike anything else in the sport, and things can unravel quickly for even the most talented horses.
Grangeclare West carries 11st 10lb, which reflects his quality and means he has a real weight to manage around the course.
His best form also tends to come on decent ground rather than heavy going, so the conditions in Liverpool in the days before the race will matter to his connections.
With all that said, the broader picture is encouraging. He is ten years old, which tends to be a productive age for National horses.
He is trained by a man who has developed a remarkable understanding of what it takes to win this race in recent years.
His jumping is generally reliable. And he has Aintree experience that the majority of his rivals cannot claim.
Jagwar heads the market and has earned his position as favourite. I Am Maximus, carrying top weight as the 2024 winner, will have plenty of support from those who believe he can become one of the rare horses to win the race more than once.
Both are worthy rivals. But for anyone looking for a horse with recent winning form, a proven Aintree record, the most significant National trial behind him, and one of the sport’s finest trainers pulling the strings, Grangeclare West at 11/1 presents a strong case.
He was unlucky last year, making a mistake at the final fence but staying on strongly and closing on the leaders, only to run out of room.
Aintree in 2026 should suit him down to the ground, but those late errors are still a concern.
The winner is likely to come from the Willie Mullins team, and Grangeclare West looks one of the main players. Will it be him? I wouldn’t bet against it.
BETFRED
