I Am Maximus: two Nationals won, and a third attempt in 2027

Record

He has run 22 times over jumps and in a bumper, winning seven. The table shows the runs that matter most for the 2027 National.

As a novice chaser he also won the Drinmore Novice Chase. Of his three Grand Nationals he has won two and been second in the other, and the last two were both run on good to soft ground. He has not raced since the 2026 National.

What is known about I Am Maximus

He stays and he carries weight. The 2026 win came off an official rating of 168 and 11st 12lb, the heaviest weight carried by a National winner this century. He was the first horse in 50 years to win the race in non-consecutive years. Timeform rated it the best winning performance by a National winner they had seen.

His prep runs do not show his Aintree form. In 2025–26 he ran three times in Grade 1 chases over shorter trips: ninth in the John Durkan, second in the Savills Chase, fifth in the Irish Gold Cup. None of those suggested he would win at Aintree by two and a half lengths. Mullins prepares him with the National as the main target, and form in December and February is a rough guide at best.

He is not always easy. Mullins describes him as a character; Townend rode a patient race in 2026 and let his class tell late on. For a bettor that means a horse who can look beaten in midwinter and still turn up at Aintree.

He has a strong stable around him. McManus also owned Iroko, who was second in 2026, and became the first owner to have the first two home in a National. The 2026 win was a third National in a row for Mullins. A trainer who wins the race that often knows how to get a horse there in shape.

Grand National 2027: chances and why

The 2027 race is a 34-runner handicap on Saturday 10 April. In May 2026 bookmakers made I Am Maximus favourite at 12/1, about an 8% chance.

Our estimate, not a bookmaker price: if he lines up in the same form, about 10%, a fair price of 9/1. Allowing for the chance that he misses the race, through injury, a change of plan or a dip in form at eleven, we put his overall chance today at about 7%, close to 13/1. That makes 12/1 roughly fair and no better.

Why he is still the horse to beat:

1. His record over the National fences reads 1-2-1, from three runs in three years.
2. He has already won carrying the maximum weight, so another top-weight burden is no new test.
3. The stable plan is built around this race, and his form in it has been better than his form anywhere else.

Why we stop well short of backing him at 12/1 today:

1. He will be eleven, and older horses are often handicapped on what they did rather than what they can still do.
2. A 34-runner race over four miles carries risks that have nothing to do with ability: falls, interference and loose horses.
3. His running is not confirmed, and without non-runner no bet an ante-post stake is lost if he does not go.

How to bet on I Am Maximus

The National is the race where each way earns its keep. Standard terms for a handicap of 16 or more runners are four places at a quarter of the odds, and many bookmakers add extra places for this race. Our Grand National guide sets out the place terms paid in 2026 and how they differ by bookmaker. Use the each way calculator to see what each extra place is worth at his price.

Markets to consider:

• Ante-post each way. 12/1 now, with the stake lost if he does not run.
• Non-runner no bet. Offered nearer the race, at a shorter price. For an eleven-year-old, we prefer it.
• To finish in the top four, five or six. Place-only markets suit a horse whose strength is that he gets round and keeps going.
• Match bets against Iroko or the other horses placed in 2026.

Rule 4 deductions, place terms by field size and the main jumps meetings are explained on the horse racing hub.

Where to watch

The Grand National is shown live in the UK by the national broadcaster that holds racing rights, and the Irish prep races are covered by the racing channels in Ireland. Elsewhere, look for the broadcaster that carries British racing in your country. Racecourses publish replays of their main races.

Some betting sites also show races live inside the account once you are signed in. A number of the sites on our list offer this, but each carries different meetings, so check before race day rather than on it.

Other horses to follow

The 2027 Cheltenham Festival comes less than four weeks before Aintree. Our profiles of the two leading Champion Hurdle horses are Lossiemouth and Mydaddypaddy, and the festival itself is covered in our Cheltenham 2027 guide.

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