Nick Rockett

The headline achievement is that Grand National win on 5 April 2025, ridden by Patrick Mullins, who gave a wonderfully honest account of how it unfolded. They jumped so well and moved so easily through the field that Mullins spent much of the race actively trying to slow things down — pulling back at Canal Turn, "bopping around" on the approach to the final fence — almost managing the situation to avoid winning too soon. When he finally let Nick Rockett run at the Elbow, the horse got there comfortably. That is the kind of race a horse wins when it is built for the occasion.

He has form across Ireland and England, but Fairyhouse is where he has been most consistently devastating — three wins from six races there, a 50% record at a track he clearly loves. One of those wins came just weeks before Aintree, beating an Irish National winner in the process, with his trainer W P Mullins noting that the slick jumping and the short turnaround had him worried but ultimately impressed. With 230 winners sent out by the yard this season alone, Nick Rockett still stands out.

The question now is what comes next, and his trainer has spoken openly about the dilemma. Racing him over hurdles would protect his current rating — he is now officially rated 6lb higher than when he won the National, which makes a repeat harder on paper. A Gold Cup bid is possible. But the honest feeling from the stable is that Aintree suits him in a way that is hard to ignore, and the idea of sending back a defending champion with a genuine shot at back-to-back wins is difficult to walk away from. He is, by all accounts, in particularly good shape. At nine years old, with half his races won and a Grand National on his CV, Nick Rockett has very little left to prove — and yet somehow, the best may still be coming.