Trained by Willie Mullins, Nick Rockett etched his name into the annals of Grand National history when winning the world-famous steeplechase under Patrick Mullins, son of his trainer, in 2025. However, the Walk In The Park gelding was denied the opportunity to bid for back-to-back victories when declared a non-runner shortly before the 2026 renewal, having reportedly given “a few coughs”.
In fact, Nick Rockett had run just once since his Grand National win, finishing a never-threatening third of four, beaten six-and-three-quarter lengths, behind comfortable winner Gerry Colombe in the Bluegrass Racehorse Cube Chase at Down Royal on March 17, 2026. Despite an interrupted preparation, as the result of two, albeit minor, hold-ups, Patrick Mullins said afterwards, “I loved what he did from the back of the second last when he got his second wind and he ran on.”
Still only a nine-year-old, Nick Rockett is currently officially rated 168, 5lb higher than when winning the National but, when on song, is a strong-travelling type with a fast, economical jumping technique. Indeed, the form of his 2025 Grand National win has worked out extremely well, with the second, I Am Maximus, and the fourth, Iroko, finishing first and second in the 2026 renewal, so it’s difficult to argue that, at 33/1, he’s not overpriced in the early ante-post lists for 2027.
Of course, Willie Mullins has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to Grand National contenders, with I Am Maximus, the winner in 2024 and 2026, and Grangeclare West, third in 2025 and an early casualty, when well fancied, in 2026, in the first half a dozen in the early ante-post betting. However, if Nick Rockett resumes his progress – he was actually completing a hat-trick when winning the National – and can be produced fit and well on April 10, 2027, he could make a mockery of his current odds.