Grand National Trainers: Records, Dominance and Who to Follow in 2027

If the jockey is the pilot, the trainer is the engineer. Everything that happens in the Grand National — the fitness of the horse, the choice of race, the preparation over fences, the tactical plan — starts in the trainer’s yard months before the field lines up at Aintree. A horse does not arrive at the Grand National by accident. It arrives because a trainer has identified it as a National horse, prepared it accordingly, and navigated the entries, weights and trials to get it there in peak condition. The brains behind the horse make the race possible.

This guide looks at what separates a Grand National trainer from the rest, profiles the leading yards for 2027, and reviews the all-time training records at Aintree — including the extraordinary recent dominance of one yard that has not just rewritten the record books but torn them up and started again.

The riders they book are covered in the jockey records.

What Makes a Grand National Trainer: Preparation for the Toughest Race

Training a Grand National runner is fundamentally different from preparing a horse for a standard steeplechase. The distance — over four miles — demands a level of stamina that most racehorses never need to develop. The fences require confidence and accuracy. The field size means the horse must be comfortable in traffic, able to settle in a large pack without wasting energy fighting for position.

Grand National trainers begin their preparation months in advance. A typical campaign might start in the autumn, with runs over shorter distances to build fitness and race sharpness, followed by a step up in trip through the winter. Trial races — the Becher Chase over the National fences in December, the Grand National Trial at Haydock in February, the Eider Chase at Newcastle — serve as dress rehearsals, giving trainers a chance to assess their horse’s jumping, stamina and temperament under race conditions.

Schooling over National-style fences is another crucial element. Not all training yards have access to fences that replicate the unique construction of the Aintree obstacles, so some trainers send their horses to courses where they can practise over similar obstacles. The better a horse knows how to tackle the spruce-topped fences before race day, the less likely it is to make the kind of jumping error that can end a race in an instant.

The trainer also makes the key strategic decisions: which jockey to book, what weight to accept, whether to run in a late trial that might result in a rise in the handicap. These are not trivial choices. A trainer who overraces a horse before the National risks it arriving at Aintree stale. One who underraces it risks a lack of fitness. The art is in the calibration — and the best Grand National trainers get it right more often than they get it wrong.

The 2026 Grand National: A Trainer’s Story

The 2026 Grand National — run on 11 April at Aintree — was a race that confirmed everything we thought we knew about Grand National training and then, in the same breath, reminded us how little certainty this race offers. Only 16 of the 34 starters completed the course, with falls, unseats, and pull-ups decimating the field across 30 fences. For the trainers involved, it was a day of triumph, frustration, and in some cases, heartbreak.

Here is how the major training yards fared:

Willie Mullins — Historic Fourth

Willie Mullins’ 2026 Grand National performance cemented his status as the most dominant trainer in the race’s modern history. I Am Maximus, carrying top weight of 11st 12lb — the heaviest burden carried to victory in decades — became the first horse since Red Rum in the 1970s to regain the Grand National crown. The win was Mullins’ fourth Grand National triumph, drawing him level with Ginger McCain and Fred Rimell at the top of the all-time training leaderboard.

More remarkably, it was Mullins’ third consecutive Grand National victory — I Am Maximus in 2024, Nick Rockett in 2025, and I Am Maximus again in 2026 — making him the first trainer since Vincent O’Brien in the 1950s to achieve that feat. Mullins saddled eight of the 34 runners in the 2026 race, and his horses filled three of the top eight finishing positions: I Am Maximus (1st), High Class Hero (5th at 66/1), and Champ Kiely (8th). Even his non-finishers — Grangeclare West, Quai De Bourbon, Spanish Harlem, Lecky Watson, and Captain Cody — illustrated the sheer depth of his entry.

“It was a good call from JP,” Mullins said after the race, referring to owner JP McManus’s decision to keep I Am Maximus aimed at the National rather than the Gold Cup. “He felt he was well handicapped. Paul just executed it so well.”

Mullins’ approach to the Grand National is notable for its volume and versatility. Rather than targeting the race with a single horse, he enters multiple runners with different profiles — some frontrunners, some hold-up horses, some proven stayers and some progressive types having their first crack at the trip. This scattergun strategy maximises his chance of having at least one runner suited to the conditions on the day, and in 2026 it produced a result that further entrenched his name in Aintree folklore.

Gordon Elliott — A Frustrating Afternoon

Gordon Elliott, who trained Tiger Roll to back-to-back victories in 2018 and 2019, sent five runners to the 2026 Grand National and endured a deeply frustrating afternoon. His best finisher was Favori De Champdou in sixth at 40/1, followed by Three Card Brag (9th) and Firefox (16th and last home). But Gerri Colombe fell at the seventh fence, and Stellar Story — whose jockey Robbie Dunne was taken to hospital after a nasty fall at the 19th — cast a shadow over the yard’s day.

Elliott remains a major force in Grand National training — his three career wins put him level with Mullins on the all-time list before the 2026 race — but the 2026 renewal was a reminder that even the most accomplished yards can be humbled by Aintree.

Joseph O’Brien — A Near-Miss and a Disappointment

Joseph O’Brien sent two runners to the 2026 National with contrasting fortunes. Jordans, ridden by Ben Jones, finished a gallant third at 28/1 — leading over the final fence before tiring on the run-in as I Am Maximus and Iroko swept past. It was a bold front-running ride from a seven-year-old who will be a year older and wiser in 2027. Banbridge, the yard’s other runner, was less fortunate: unseating rider JJ Slevin at the 15th fence.

Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero — Local Heroes

The training performance of the day outside the Mullins yard came from Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, the local Cheshire-based partnership who saddled Iroko to a second-place finish at 18/1. Ridden by Jonjo O’Neill Jr, Iroko stayed on strongly in the closing stages to grab second from the tiring Jordans. The partnership have already indicated they will target the 2027 race with Iroko, who will be nine and arriving with even more Aintree experience. “He’s got even more experience now,” said Guerriero. “We’ll come back and win it next year.”

Jonjo & A.J. O’Neill — A Quietly Excellent Campaign

Jonjo O’Neill Sr, who won the Grand National as a jockey on Dawn Run in 1984, has built a consistent training record at Aintree. Johnnywho, ridden by Richie McLernon, finished fourth at 12/1 — a creditable performance from a horse who had won the Ultima Handicap at Cheltenham. The O’Neill yard’s ability to prepare a horse for both Cheltenham and Aintree in the same season is a notable skill.

Henry de Bromhead — Both Runners Home

Henry de Bromhead, who trained Minella Times to win the 2021 Grand National with Rachael Blackmore, sent three runners to the 2026 renewal. Monty’s Star finished 10th at 14/1 and Gorgeous Tom 12th at 20/1 — both completing the course — while Amirite was pulled up before the fourth-last fence. Two finishers from three runners is a solid return in a race where only 16 of 34 completed.

The wider context is set out in our Grand National betting guide.

Dan Skelton — A Brief Nightmare

Dan Skelton’s 2026 Grand National was over almost before it began. His sole runner, the well-backed mare Panic Attack, was sent off at 7/1 — one of the market principals — only to fall at the third fence. Skelton, who was enjoying an excellent season and had landed a 955/1 treble earlier on the Aintree card, described it as “just not her day.” The disappointment was a reminder that even the best-prepared horse can be undone by the National’s unique hazards.

Ben Pauling — Becher Chase Winner Completes

Ben Pauling’s Twig, winner of the Becher Chase over the National fences in December 2025, finished 15th at 40/1. While the finishing position was modest, completing the course in a Grand National is an achievement in itself, and Pauling’s deliberate targeting of the race via the Becher Chase — the most reliable trial for the National — showed a trainer with a clear plan. Twig will be a year older in 2027 and has now completed the National course twice.

Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies — A Family Connection

Nigel Twiston-Davies, a two-time Grand National-winning trainer (Earth Summit 1998, Bindaree 2002), sent Top Of The Bill in 2026. Ridden by Toby McCain-Mitchell — grandson of the legendary Ginger McCain — the horse fell at the final fence. McCain-Mitchell received a 10-day ban for failing to pull up his horse, who had tailed off well before the fall. It was a difficult day for a yard with such rich Aintree heritage.

All-Time Grand National Trainer Records at Aintree

The 2026 result redrew the all-time training leaderboard. Willie Mullins’ fourth win moved him into a tie for the most Grand National training victories in history.

Ginger McCain holds a special place in Grand National folklore, having trained Red Rum to three victories and later saddled Amberleigh House to win in 2004 — four winners from a yard that was, by elite training standards, modest in scale. McCain’s record demonstrates that the Grand National does not always reward the biggest or wealthiest operation — it rewards the one that knows the race best.

Jenny Pitman made history as the first female trainer to win the Grand National with Corbiere in 1983, and added a second win with Royal Athlete in 1995 — a record that opened doors for generations of women in the training profession. Nicky Henderson, the most successful National Hunt trainer by prize money, has a surprisingly thin Grand National record — an illustration of how the race’s unique demands can elude even the most accomplished stables.

Mullins’ recent dominance, however, has shifted the landscape. His three consecutive wins from 2024 to 2026 — achieved with two different horses and ridden by two different jockeys — demonstrate a depth of preparation that no other yard can currently match. If I Am Maximus lines up again in 2027 to attempt a third victory, Mullins could stand alone as the first trainer to win four successive Grand Nationals — a record that would surpass even Vincent O’Brien’s legendary 1953–55 hat-trick.

Looking Ahead to 2027: Can Anyone Beat Mullins?

For the 2027 Grand National, the question punters will be asking is straightforward: can anyone beat Mullins? I Am Maximus has already been installed as the 8/1 early favourite to defend his crown, with Betfair cutting his price from 16/1 immediately after the 2026 result.

But the answer, as with everything at Aintree, is that the race has a habit of humbling the powerful and rewarding the unexpected. Several trainers will arrive at Aintree in 2027 with genuine hopes of dethroning the Mullins empire:

• Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero have publicly committed to returning with Iroko, who will be nine — right in the Grand National sweet spot — and will have the benefit of a full year’s experience over the National fences.
• Joseph O’Brien’s Jordans will be eight in 2027, another year stronger, and his front-running style suits Aintree’s early dynamics.
• Gordon Elliott will surely be hungry to avenge a frustrating 2026, and his track record of three Grand National wins means he can never be discounted.
• Henry de Bromhead has the horses and the know-how, and his 2026 runners both completed the course — a sign of sound preparation.
• Ben Pauling’s Twig will have the rare advantage of having completed the National twice, plus a Becher Chase win over the same fences.

The modern Grand National also requires trainers to adapt to evolving conditions. The course modifications since 2026 — the relocation of Becher’s Brook, the smaller field, the adjusted fence profiles — mean that the preparation playbook is not static. Trainers who cling to old methods may find that the race has moved on. The best Grand National trainers are the ones who study the changes, adjust their approach, and give their horses the best possible preparation for the course as it is now, not as it was a decade ago.

For bettors, the trainer’s Grand National record is one of the most reliable indicators of a runner’s suitability. A horse trained by a handler with multiple previous National runners — even if none has won — benefits from the accumulated knowledge of how to prepare for the race. A first-time Grand National trainer sending a horse to Aintree is navigating unfamiliar territory, and the odds should reflect that. The brains behind the horse remain the single most important factor outside the running rail, and ignoring the trainer’s record is a mistake no serious Grand National bettor should make.