Aintree Grand National 2026: Now Is The Hour ruled out as the draw narrows and the pressure rises
The key development around aintree grand national 2026 is not only who remains in contention, but who has already been removed. Thyestes Chase winner Now Is The Hour, along with French Dynamite and Blaze The Way, was not left in at Monday’s confirmation stage, and the decision immediately reshaped the picture for the race’s final field.
Verified fact: a final field of 34 is due to face the starter, and Ben Pauling’s Twig is now due to take the last spot if all those above him run. Analysis: that means every withdrawal now carries direct consequences for the order of entry, the hopes of smaller yards, and the final balance of a race that is already defined by attrition. The latest changes make the aintree grand national 2026 picture narrower, more selective, and more unforgiving.
What changed at the confirmation stage?
The most immediate fact is the removal of Now Is The Hour, described as an untimely setback for Gavin Cromwell’s team. L’Homme Presse was already expected to be absent, and the latest confirmation stage added French Dynamite and Blaze The Way to the list of horses not being left in. That leaves the race’s shortlist slimmer and increases the importance of the runners still standing.
Cromwell said Now Is The Hour is out for the rest of the season and will be taken out of the Grand National at the forfeit stage. He also said the horse had a great season, pointing to the Thyestes victory and a strong run at Cheltenham. The statement matters because it shows this is not a tactical withdrawal based on race placement alone, but a season-ending issue that removes a horse with proven form from the equation. For owners, Cromwell framed the race as a once in a lifetime opportunity, which makes the loss more than a simple change in entries.
Verified fact: Final Orders and Perceval Legallois are both in good order and are due to be confirmed. Analysis: that detail matters because the field has not only lost names; it has also exposed how fragile the final stage can be, where one horse’s condition can alter the outlook for several others still waiting to be secured.
Who still shapes the Aintree Grand National 2026 field?
Willie Mullins is responsible for 10 entries, with nine guaranteed a run. Among them are the last two winners of the Aintree spectacle in I Am Maximus and Nick Rockett. Also part of that team are Bobbyjo Chase winner and last year’s third Grangeclare West and Spanish Harlem, who is owned by Dr Peter Fitzgerald, managing director of the race sponsors. That detail underlines a layered ownership and participation picture without changing the basic competitive fact: the Mullins group remains one of the defining forces in the race.
Haiti Couleurs adds another dimension. Already the winner of the Irish and Welsh Nationals, the horse is chasing a unique slice of turf history. Dan Skelton’s Panic Attack has a separate target: to become the first mare to win since Nickel Coin in 1951. Those two narratives provide the clearest alternative angles now that Now Is The Hour has been removed, and they give the race a sharper historical frame.
Verified fact: a total of 49 horses remain in contention. Analysis: when the number of possible runners is still that large, the real story is not just who is favored, but which stable can keep its contenders intact long enough to survive the process. In that sense, aintree grand national 2026 is already being shaped as much by administration and withdrawals as by form.
Who benefits, and what does the market now reflect?
Top-weight I Am Maximus is a best priced 15-2 favourite with bet365 to become the first horse to regain the Grand National crown after losing it since Red Rum, who won three renewals between 1973 and 1977. His stablemate Grangeclare West is a 10-1 shot, as is the Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero-trained Jagwar. Haiti Couleurs is 12-1 alongside Iroko, who finished fourth as the 13-2 favourite 12 months ago for the Greenall-Guerriero combination.
The betting picture reveals a simple but important truth: the race has not become less competitive because a few names have dropped out. Instead, it has become more concentrated around a cluster of horses with established credentials. That concentration benefits the leading yards and the horses with the strongest recent form, while it leaves late casualties like Now Is The Hour outside the final frame of opportunity.
Verified fact: Cromwell’s horse had won the Thyestes and run well at Cheltenham before being ruled out for the rest of the season. Analysis: that is the hidden cost of a late-stage Grand National withdrawal. It erases not only a runner, but a story line, a training campaign, and a chance that cannot be recovered this season.
What should readers take from the narrowing field?
The public lesson is straightforward: the Grand National’s scale does not prevent sharp exclusion at the margins. The confirmation stage has already separated those who remain from those who do not, and it has done so on the basis of fitness, readiness, and final declarations rather than reputation alone. For the horses still in contention, that means the route to the start is still open but not yet secure.
The final field of 34, the 49 horses still in contention, and the prominence of leading names all point to a race where the competition is now as much about survival through the entry process as it is about performance on the day. For followers of aintree grand national 2026, the latest removals are not a side note. They are the frame through which the race should now be read: narrower, more selective, and still changing.
