Key Points
- Ante-post betting tips for the 2026 renewal of the Aintree Grand National
- Iroko ran an eye-catching race in this year’s race and should be even better next year!
- With the big odds on offer for Dancing City it’s worth getting on early!
For today’s betting tips, I’m looking ahead to the 2026 Aintree Grand National. In this year’s race I saw a real eye-catcher in the field, who will surely be even better next year, and I think he is a big contender for the 2026 trophy.
My other pick is flying well under the radar at present, and although there is no mention that he could be targeted for the race as yet, I feel he is the perfect candidate for it, so I’m taking a punt on him at a big antepost price. And talking of antepost betting tips, you might want to take a look at my early pick for the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, who is still showing at a big price for the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.
Betting advice
- 2026 Aintree Grand National -
Iroko
@ 25/1 -
1pt Win
- 2026 Aintree Grand National -
Dancing City
@ 40/1 -
1pt Win
bet365 are offering the best ante-post prices
Stalwart bookies bet365 are currently offering the best prices for my two ante-post betting tips for the 2026 Grand National. Both of my selections are much shorter elsewhere, so the value lies right here. As well as great value odds, bet365 has a superb sign up offer too. If you open an account and
bet £10, you’ll get £30 in free bets. If you don’t have an account there yet, now is the time to sign up!
One proven contender and one under the radar
My two selections are chalk and cheese in terms of their claims for the 2026 Aintree Grand National. Nevertheless, I feel they both have a very strong chance for different reasons. I think it’s wise to come at this race from two completely different angles, and at their current prices, we can afford to do so as well!
As is always the case, antepost betting comes with risks attached, as the horse you back could get injured, it could be targeted at another race, or something else could go amiss. As a result, it’s always handy to have more than one option.
Iroko has been there and done it but I think he’ll be even better next season
My first antepost betting tip for the 2026 Grand National is Iroko, owned by JP McManus, and trained by Messrs. Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero. He was sent off as the 13/2 favourite for this year’s renewal, and he ran a superb race to finish fourth, especially when you consider that he jumped the last fence back in sixth. Winner Nick Rockett, Iroko, and Senior Chief were the only horses who covered the final furlong faster than the furlong prior. Which clearly showed that they still had something left in the tank at the finish, rather than just making their way to the line
It’s also particularly interesting that Iroko clocked the fastest finishing speed of any of the horses to finish the 2025 Aintree Grand National. It’s also notable that Iroko was also the youngest, being the only seven-year-old to finish.
To my eye, Iroko didn’t travel with the same zest that some of the others did, and that always had him on the back foot throughout the race. Pecking on landing after the 25th only exacerbated that fact, and I thought he did remarkably well to stay on so strongly and finish where he did. After the race, Jonjo O’Neill Jr commented that
“He just found everything a bit fast early on and was a bit on his head. He could have done with the ground being slower.”
Then went on to say:
“With another year on his back I look forward to coming back again.”
And that is the exact impression he gave me.
With another year to grow, develop, and mature, I think he will be an even better horse next season. If there was some juice in the ground for the next renewal, it would certainly support his chance. For me, it was a similar story to Meetingofthewaters, who finished seventh in the 2024 renewal, beaten by 16 lengths. However, he came back as an eight-year-old for another crack, and came fifth, beaten by less than 10 lengths.
Obviously there was hope that Meetingofthewaters had improved enough to win, but he still bettered his previous try by two places and was more than six lengths closer to the winner. Personally, I think Iroko has greater potential than Meetingofthewaters, having stayed the trip strongly. My main concern would be that connections decide to campaign him with other races in mind. But to be honest, I’m not sure which other options are worth pursuing.
In my opinion, he certainly wouldn’t have the pace for something like the King George, and I’m not sure he’d have the class for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. I’d certainly fancy a fair few ahead of him for either of those. There could be other Handicap targets, like the Coral Gold Cup, but as he couldn’t quite go the gallop in the Grand National, he won’t be able to handle the pace of a race like that.
At the end of the day, JP McManus has plenty of horses that he could aim at any of those races. And with I Am Maximus turning 10-years-old before the next Grand National renewal, and Meetingofthewaters beaten in the race twice now, I think Iroko could be the main flag bearer for JP next year. At 25/1, I think there is plenty of value in his early price, and if they opt for a similar campaign to this season, he could easily be going off at a single figure price next year.
Dancing City fits the right profile for the modern day Grand National
My second selection for the 2026 Grand National is Dancing City, who runs for Willie Mullins and the Donnelly’s. Whilst Iroko is tried, tested and will almost certainly be campaigned for the race, Dancing City is more of a risk in all senses. However, I think his potential is enormous, and his 40/1 price tag grossly underestimates his chances.
Typically, the Aintree Grand National is won by first or second season Chasers having their first attempt at the race. They also tend to be Graded winners, which brings significant class to the race as well. This year’s winner, Nick Rockett, fitted those trends as a second season Chaser, and recorded Graded successes in both the Thyestes and the Bobbyjo.
Dancing City has a similar profile. He is in his first Chase season now, so he’ll be well into his second season by this time next year. He won the Grade 3 Novice Chase at Naas in January, and he has also competed in Grade 1 Novice Chases at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals, which is a higher level than Nick Rockett was at this time last year.
As well as the aforementioned points, Dancing City ticks all of the boxes that I like to see. He gallops and jumps all day, so I think he’ll love the Grand National. Despite Willie Mullins commenting that Dancing City is
“Lazy as sin”
he went on to say
“But that's what you want from these staying chasers, horses that do exactly what you want them to do”.
Being able to switch a horse off, then sneaking it through a big field, whilst also keeping the tank full, is the key to winning the Grand National. Too much exuberance means wasted energy, and less chance of getting home at the front. It’s also interesting that he made bad mistakes at both Cheltenham and Aintree over shorter trips, so the slower tempo, and the need for more precision in the Grand National, may well suit him better.
Dancing City already has entries for the Willow Warm Gold Cup, the Irish Grand National, and the bet365 Gold Cup. If he wins any of those, he could blow his Handicap mark for the 2026 Grand National. However, after his recent Aintree fall, and the quick turnaround, they may well save him for next season. That said, there is still Punchestown coming up, which we are yet to see entries for, so that’s a possibility too.
As Dancing City has already won over fences at Naas and Punchestown this campaign, he has lost his novice status. If he competes in Grade 1s next season, it will be in Open company, meaning races like the King George, the Irish Gold Cup, or the Cheltenham Gold Cup, against the very best horses.
He might well come up short at that level, but still have more than enough class to go very well in a Grand National. At 40/1, I think there is huge value in his early price, and if connections do commit to going down this route, his price will plummet!
We have the two powerhouses on side with this pair!
If you care to look back at the 2025 Aintree Grand National, it’s clear to see that it was dominated by Willie Mullins and JP McManus. Willie Mullins produced a simply incredible 1-2-3-5-7 in the race. Meanwhile, the power that is JP McManus had the 2-4-5, which went a little under the radar I thought. But between them they were responsible for the first five places in the race.
Obviously at this stage we don’t know what they will have to throw at the 2026 Grand National. However I think Dancing City could be one of the top contenders for Willie Mullins if they target him at the race. While the horses that took this year’s top three places could all be bang on next year, they are all priced shorter in the market than Dancing City, and I feel he is the best value Willie Mullins option at this stage.
Unless something unforeseen comes out of the woodwork, or Inothewayurthinkin takes his chance in the 2026 renewal having missed out this time, then I think Iroko will be JP McManus’ best chance. After all, that one surely has more improvement to come than either I Am Maximus, or Meetingofthewaters.
Iroko and Dancing City stand out for me. And at their current antepost prices of 25/1 and 40/1 respectively, they represent big value. Frankly, I can only see those prices getting shorter over the summer, and I wouldn’t be at all shocked to see them at less than a third of their odds as we move closer to the big day. With that in mind, I’m keen to get on them now, and I hope that you will do the same.
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I am currently producing betting tips every week for Betting.co.uk, along with some feature pieces like big race trends too. I post three or four articles per week here, but the majority of my betting tips can only be found on my Discord server. The Discord community allows you to get involved in what is effectively a huge group chat of like-minded people that all love their racing.
After 11/2, 15/2 and 20/1 winners last week, I have landed two more winners for my members already this week! More details about my Discord tips and the write ups for them can be found over on my X account @RacingGav.
In the meantime, you can get a
7 day free trial of my Discord Server, which is plenty of time to decide if it’s right for you.
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