2026 Grand National Field Narrows to 49 as Final Declarations Loom

The most dramatic betting move of Aintree's build-up belongs to Johnnywho, and the Jonjo O'Neill-trained gelding is not even guaranteed a start yet.

Johnnywho's victory in the Trustmarque Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham on March 10 drove his Grand National odds from 40/1 down to 16/1, the sharpest trim in the ante-post market since entries opened. The Ultima is a proven National pipeline: two of the last four Grand National winners contested it, which explains much of the punter appetite for O'Neill's nine-year-old. But as of Monday's five-day declaration stage, Johnnywho sits at number 36 in the weights, one position outside the 34 guaranteed a start. He needs exactly one more withdrawal before Wednesday's deadline to secure a spot on the April 11 starting line.

That withdrawal may already be materialising. L'Homme Presse, Venetia Williams' 11-year-old and one of the more seasoned staying profiles in the weights, has been ruled out after being found lame. His exit moves Top Of The Bill from 35th into 34th, leaving Johnnywho needing just one further scratching to move from first reserve into the field proper.

The overall field stood at 49 runners after Monday's five-day confirmation stage, with 15 horses withdrawn at that cut. The final 34 starters plus six reserves will be confirmed at 10am on Wednesday, April 8. Connections then have until 1pm on the day before the race to make any changes, with a reserve eligible to fill any vacancy up to that point.

Among the confirmed contenders, I Am Maximus heads the weights at 11st 12lb. Willie Mullins' 10-year-old won the race in 2024 and ran second to Nick Rockett in 2025, again under top weight. His class is hard to argue with, but the historical record complicates things: no horse aged 10 or older has won the Grand National since 2014, and no top-weight carrier has won since Red Rum in 1974.

Grangeclare West, a Mullins stablemate, made the most compelling market case of any horse during the winter. His five-and-a-half-length win in February's Grade 3 Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse, a recognized Aintree trial, compressed his odds from 25/1 to 12/1. The 10-year-old finished three lengths behind Rockett in last year's race and arrives this spring in noticeably sharper condition.

Jagwar, owned by JP McManus and trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, sits inside the final 34 at number 24, carrying 10st 10lb. Mark Walsh has been confirmed to ride. The gelding was beaten half a length by Johnnywho in the Ultima, a result that simultaneously qualified him for the National and handed punters a meaningful measure of his stamina. Iroko, a Jagwar stablemate and the ante-post favourite heading into March, absorbed a significant setback when finishing 10th in that same Ultima, and his odds have drifted accordingly despite last year's fourth-place finish and a win at Ascot earlier this season.

The 48-hour window between Monday's confirmations and Wednesday's declaration deadline is historically where genuine ante-post value appears. Ground reports, training gallops, and weather forecasts out of Aintree all feed last-minute decisions by connections. With Panic Attack currently holding the final guaranteed start on a rating of 147 and Johnnywho's eligibility hinging on a single scratch, the declaration sheet on April 8 will shift the market well before the first fence is jumped.