Key Points
- My betting tip has the same profile as the last two winners
- This horse runs for the trainer who dominated last year’s renewal
- He is versatile ground wise but he will love the typical Grand National going
The Aintree Grand National may be months away, but as it’s such a high profile race, getting on early to catch the big prices is often the best way to play. I think I’ve found a gem hidden further down the market, I’m keen to get him on side. He ticks an awful lot of boxes and I think once people catch on to that fact, his price will shorten considerably.
If you’re just discovering my articles for the first time, I’m RacingGav and this is Betting.co.uk. I’m the resident horse racing expert, so you will find several of my articles here each week. They are predominantly betting tips, but I also cover other areas like educational guides, big race trends and horse racing news.
If you are interested in antepost betting, which I assume you are if you’re reading this, be sure to check out my existing betting tips for the
2026 Grand National, the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, and two for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.
Betting advice
- 11 April 2026 - Aintree - Grand National - High Class Hero @ 50/1 (4 places) - 1pt each way
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The Grand National has changed and Willie has benefitted
In recent years, we have seen many changes made to the Grand National. A reduction in the field size, which is now down to 34, and a reduced height for the fences, with both aimed at improving safety. While it may well do that, those changes also reduce the chance of an upset, as better horses are lining up. In this article, I’ll break down why I think High Class Hero could be the 2026 Grand National winner, so make sure you read on!
High Class Hero has the same profile as the last two winners
The last two renewals of the Grand National have been won by Willie Mullins with the same type of horse. Both I Am Maximus and Nick Rockett were lightly raced second season Chasers. High Class Hero also fits that mould, and I hope he can follow in their footsteps to give the Champion Trainer him a hat-trick in 2026.
I Am Maximus had fourteen starts prior to the Grand National, with nine over fences. Nick Rockett had twelve starts under Rules with eight Chase starts in total. Interestingly High Class Hero has had twelve starts with five over fences, so with another two to three runs between now and April, he would have a very similar profile to these two latest Grand National winners.
High Class Hero runs for Willie Mullins, who dominated last year’s renewal
As touched upon above, the changes made to the Grand National help make the race safer. However, in reducing the fallers and general incidents, you also remove a lot of the luck required to win. Many well fancied and talented horses have succumbed to bad luck in Grand Nationals but now, it has never been easier for them to complete the course and have every chance of winning.
Therefore, it is no surprise that with that element removed, the class is coming to the fore. The Champion Trainer - Willie Mullins won the 2024 renewal in great fashion with I Am Maximus powering clear by seven and a half lengths. Then in 2025 he quite unbelievably had the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th! Willie deserves plenty of credit for that but in my mind, there is no doubt that the changes to the race impacted it happening.
With the changes almost a certainty not to be reversed and with the Grand National’s huge prize money having massive appeal for Willie Mullins both generally and for the UK Trainers Championship, I can see him dominating the race for years to come. Hopefully that results in the 2026 renewal being won by my selection here - High Class Hero!
High Class Hero is versatile ground wise but will love the typical Grand National going
With antepost betting, you need to account for all eventualities and this includes the weather. One huge plus point for High Class Hero and that contributes to me being happy to move early on him, is his versatility in terms of the going. In his relatively short career to date, he has already won on Good to Yielding, Yielding to Soft, Soft and even Heavy ground. Therefore, regardless of how the weather plays a part come the Spring, I’d fancy him to run his race.
That said, his career best effort to date came in the bet365 Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Sandown in April, which was run on Good ground.Whilst I’m sure the marathon trip of 3m4.5f certainly played a part in the huge run, I think he relished that better ground, especially over the stamina testing trip. Considering that there is an additional 6f to run at Aintree, compared to Sandown, I think better ground would play into his hands the best. Whilst you can get all sorts of weather for the Grand National, the ground is typically on the better side at Aintree in April.
What Willie Mullins has to say about High Class Hero
In a recent stable tour, Willie was asked about High Class Hero and the Grand National was name dropped for him. The fact this race is already on Willie’s radar should mean that he gets the ideal campaign this season ahead of it. Ironically the weekend just gone looked like the ideal first step along those lines by dropping him back to an inadequate 2m 5f. To me, that felt very much like Willie was trying to protect his mark but despite that, he ran a huge race to finish second in testing conditions, carrying a big weight and was subsequently raised 3lb to 152. I’m sure he’ll improve plenty for that run, so he looks to have improved again this year.
My ideal would be that Willie throws mid-high 160 horses at the Grand National and High Class Hero gets in off a lovely racing weight. However, as we saw with Nick Rockett, Willie can continue to improve them and win races along the way. Nick Rockett started his 2024/25 campaign off on a mark of 150 and after two wins, he went into the Grand National off 163. So if he did win between now and the Grand National, I wouldn’t be panicking.
Is High Class Hero overpriced for the Grand National at 50/1
When considering all of the positives in his favour, I believe that High Class Hero is overpriced at 50/1. The race changes play into the hands of the better horses and Willie Mullins has subsequently come to the fore in the race. I see no reason for that to change in 2026 and High Class Hero fits the mould of his two recent Grand National winners. Combining that with his ground versatility but apparent preference for better ground, he ticks an awful lot of boxes.
This is seemingly his target, he ticks an awful lot of boxes and therefore I think there is tons of value in the 50/1 available. I think the Grand National comment from Willie has slipped under the radar and once people start to put two and two together, I’m sure the money will pour in for him. Even more so as people actively look to see which of the Willie Mullins string can provide him with the hat-trick victory as we get closer to the race date.
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