AINTREE FESTIVAL DAY 3 - 2026
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So we have sent out our preview of the Grand National.
If you missed it here is the link – CLICK HERE
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Prices correct at the time of sending to members.
1:55 Aintree
BOSSMAN JACK 5/2 generally – 2 POINTS WIN
So back in November when BOSSMAN JACK was 3rd at Warwick on his hurdles debut after 308 days off the track, I noted in my records: “Aintree all the way.”Since then, he has won twice and was going very well at Cheltenham. Despite running wide throughout, he would have placed at the very least if it wasn’t for a mistake at the last hurdle.
Every time he has run this season, I have stuck to my plan, which was Aintree. I must admit I was hoping he wouldn’t run as well as he did in the Turners Novice Hurdle as he would be a much better price now.
The main reason I think he will suit Aintree is its long straight. From turning the bend they have 3 hurdles ahead; even after the last hurdle, they have a 1 furlong run in. BOSSMAN JACK will travel very well but he can take a while to get going. Once he hits top gear he is hard to catch, which is why Aintree suits him perfectly.
I also think he is a very smart horse who is only improving with each start. It will take a good one to beat him here. WIN.
4:00 Aintree
PANIC ATTACK 25/1 generally – 1 POINT E/W (Advised 25th March – Now fighting for favoritism)
I AM MAXIMUS 7/1 generally – 1 POINT WIN
IROKO 14/1 generally – 1 POINT WIN
So I am not sure what else I can do here. I found PANIC ATTACK back in March 25th at 25/1 and 95% of us bought in at that price. Even leading up to Aintree he was 14/1, 12/1 but at the time of writing he is 8/1. I have done my job and no it is over to PANIC ATTACK and Harry Skelton.
I have also produced a blog previewing every horse in the race and giving my final 3 selections:
Below is also what I sent out on the 25th March….
GRAND NATIONAL ANTE POST
PANIC ATTACK 25/1 Bet 365, 20/1 William Hill, 20/1 Unitbet – 1 POINT E/W (5 places, 1/5 odds, above bookies are NRNB)
Please ensure you use one of the bookies above as they offer non-runner no-bet.
I waited anxiously for PANIC ATTACK to see if she made the cut among the 34 runners. To my delight, she got in yesterday as number 34, right at the bottom of the handicap. The plan could not have gone any better and I am over the moon.
PANIC ATTACK has been my favourite horse this season. She landed us the Paddy Power Gold Cup at 12/1 and the Coral Gold Cup at 16/1. She clearly loves a handicap and so far this season, she is unbeaten in handicaps—exactly what the Grand National is.
At the Cheltenham Festival she stepped up to Grade 2 company and was put in her place by a seriously impressive Dinoblue. Although she was beaten fair and square, I don’t think she did much wrong, apart from being beaten by a better horse that day.
I thought she jumped and travelled very well but when the pace quickened, she couldn’t keep up with Dinoblue, who has the pace of a 2 miler.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing of course, but on that fast ground at the Cheltenham Festival, PANIC ATTACK probably wanted 3 miles, not two miles four furlongs which suited a speedier horse.
She won the Paddy Power Gold Cup back in November over 2m 4f but that race was on soft ground and it was a handicap, so it ran more like a 3 mile chase. She then went to the Coral Gold Cup and absolutely destroyed the field over 3m 2f. That evidence showed she is a horse capable of running over three miles plus. If she stayed the 3m 2f in the Coral Gold Cup, she has every chance of staying the Grand National trip, especially carrying a light weight of only 10st 5lb.
One of her biggest assets is her jumping ability. She is electric over a fence and I don’t see the Grand National fences being a problem at all.
I also feel this race has been the long term plan for PANIC ATTACK. Even before she ran at Cheltenham, Dan Skelton said she would go to the Grand National which leads me to believe he may have left some work in the horse and Cheltenham was a stepping stone on to the Grand National..
Dan Skelton has been a genius all season; is this just another magical placement of his horses?
Last year Willie Mullins won this race and ruined the Trainers’ Championship for Dan. Has Dan Skelton kept PANIC ATTACK up his sleeve since she won the Coral Gold Cup back in November, keeping this race in mind? Even after the Coral Gold Cup she went back to Newbury and won over 3 miles. She was foot perfect in the jumping department that day, further cementing that she is a horse who wants a trip.
With I Am Maximus, a certain runner carrying 11st 12lb, in the race, PANIC ATTACK is guaranteed to carry 10st 5lb which will be invaluable by the end of the race.
I am surprised there has not been a market reaction to PANIC ATTACK since yesterday, given how deadly Dan Skelton is in a handicap and this is his only runner who is right at the bottom of the handicap.
Ultimately, she didn’t have a difficult race at Cheltenham; the trip was 2m 4f, and she was brought up the hill without the whip being drawn. That race should have put her spot on for this race, and off a mark of 147, she could have run in the Ultima Handicap over 3 miles at the festival. She never ran in that race for a reason; in my opinion, it was to ensure she had less miles on the clock ahead of the Grand National.
We obviously need some luck to win this race but it is not as hard as it used to be. You can walk through the fences these days, they have been lowered, the field size has dropped and I can see Harry Skelton cruising around on the bridle, similar to how she won the Coral Gold Cup. It will be a case of whether she gets home come the 4-mile marker.
Come on PANIC ATTACK – bring it home for us and land us a 3rd big handicap of the season…..
Good Luck