Saturday’s Grand National delivered just about everything racing could have asked for: drama, a strong finish, no significant injuries among the 34 runners, and a winner that now sits among the most celebrated names in Aintree history. For those watching at Aintree, the race offered both immediate excitement and the possibility of something even bigger to come.
I Am Maximus, already a Grand National winner once before, claimed a second success and strengthened his place in the event’s modern roll of honour. If he stays sound and makes it back to Aintree in 2027 for what would be a fourth run in the race, he could be one of the main sporting stories of that year.
That prospect is possible because of the rare company he now keeps. There was a 45-year wait after Red Rum’s second Grand National victory in 1974 before another horse managed to win the race twice. Seven years after Tiger Roll completed his second success, I Am Maximus has become only the third horse since the mid-1930s to reach two wins in the race.
Closing in on Aintree’s greatest
What makes I Am Maximus especially notable is the way he has done it. He is the first horse since Red Rum to win the Grand National in nonconsecutive years. That detail alone lifts him into a highly exclusive category at a meeting that rarely repeats its champions, and it helps explain why comparisons with Aintree’s most famous winner are already being drawn.
He is also not just a two-time winner. Having finished a close second in 2025, he has now placed himself firmly among the modern greats of the race. On current evidence, he is arguably second only to Red Rum in the list of all-time Aintree legends.
Red Rum’s status is unlikely to be challenged easily. His achievements remain the benchmark for Grand National greatness, and his name still defines the race’s mythology. But I Am Maximus has made a serious case for being mentioned in the same conversation, especially after adding a second win in such a rare and historic pattern.
A horse built for the occasion
Part of the appeal is that he looks made for the Grand National stage. He carries a striking, gladiatorial name into the most famous race of the year and has repeatedly risen to the occasion when it matters most. That combination of stamina, reliability and big-race quality is exactly what Aintree demands.
In racing terms, he has become the sort of horse that defines an era at a single venue. In broader sporting terms, he fits the mould of a hero who turns up for the biggest occasions and delivers. The source of that appeal is simple: he is a two-time winner who has now shown he can do it again, and he did so in a renewal that met the sport’s hopes rather than testing them to the limit.
The immediate future will depend on whether he stays sound and returns to the track. But if he does come back for another Grand National in 2027, the horse already has history behind him and more history within reach. With a fourth appearance and the chance to add yet another chapter, he would arrive as a serious favourite and as one of the standout names in the sport.
For now, the significance is clear enough. Saturday’s race confirmed that I Am Maximus is not simply a recent winner but a horse with a real claim on the Grand National’s long memory. And with Red Rum’s record beginning to come into view, the story may only just be getting started.
