Which horse has carried the most weight to victory in the Grand National?

In recent years, the maximum weight that any horse can carry in the Grand National is 11st

10lb. Indeed, since the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) lowered the maximum weight carried from 11st 12lb to 11st 10lb in 2009, the highest weight carried to victory in the Grand National is 11st 9lb, by Many Clouds in 2015. However, looking further back in the history of the Grand National, certain horses have been encumbered with eye-watering amounts of weight.

The first ‘official’ running of the Grand National, as the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase, took place in 1839 and was won by Lottery, trained by George Dockeray, carrying 12st 0lb. However, when Lottery returned to Aintree for the 1841 Grand National such was his perceived superiority over the opposition that the racecourse authority decreed that he must carry a penalty, of 18lb, which increased his weight to a staggering 13st 4lb. Remarkably, Lottery still started favourite, at 5/2, but was pulled up at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit. An even more astonishing weight-carrying performance was recorded in 1900, when Manifesto – who had already won his second Grand National, under 12st 7lb the previous year – humped 12st 13lb into third place. Manifesto aside, three other horses, namely Cloister (1893), Jerry M (1912) and Poethyln (1919) carried 12st 7lb to victory in the Grand National.