The market has moved. On Grand National morning, Panic Attack has surged to the head of the betting, overtaking I Am Maximus as the race-day favourite. Dan Skelton's mare has won the Paddy Power Gold Cup and the Coral Gold Cup this season. Harry Skelton rides. She is bidding to become the first mare to win the Grand National since Nickel Coin in 1951. Horse Racing Oracle AI's NAP of the day is Panic Attack at 16:00.
The Selection
Panic Attack is a six-year-old mare trained by Dan Skelton at Lodge Hill in Warwickshire, ridden by Harry Skelton in the Randox Grand National Handicap Chase over 4m2f74y on good to soft ground at Aintree. She has won the two most prestigious sponsored handicap chases in Britain this season — the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham in November and the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in December. Those two wins, over two of the most competitive staying chase fields assembled in British racing, confirm her quality beyond any reasonable doubt.
Why She is the NAP
The market rarely gets the Grand National badly wrong on race morning. When a horse surges to favouritism on the day of the race — moving past a previous winner who has been market leader all week — it reflects an accumulation of stable confidence, bookmaker intelligence and informed money that carries specific weight. Panic Attack's move to the top of the market on Grand National morning is not casual drift. It is a deliberate market statement.
Dan Skelton has prepared her specifically for this race. His operation is the most dominant in British jump racing and when Skelton targets the Grand National with a specific mare who has won two Grade 1-level handicap chases in the same season, the preparation is specific rather than opportunistic.
The Form
Paddy Power Gold Cup winner. Coral Gold Cup winner. Two of the most competitive handicap chases in the British calendar, both won in the same season. Her form reading going into today's race is exceptional by the standards of any Grand National field in recent years. The Grand National demands stamina, jumping accuracy, the ability to handle a big competitive field and the physical reserves to sustain effort over four miles. She has demonstrated all four in the two biggest staying handicap chases of the autumn and winter.
Her Cheltenham run most recently — a third in the Mares Chase — is not her best form and should not be read as a form collapse. The Mares Chase was a different assignment over a shorter trip in a specialist race. Today's conditions, over four miles on good to soft ground in a 34-horse field, match her profile far more directly than anything at Cheltenham did.
Harry Skelton
Harry Skelton is one of the best jump jockeys in Britain. He has ridden Panic Attack throughout her successful campaign this season. He knows exactly how she travels, how she jumps and what she needs from a race to produce her best. Partnership continuity at this level — the same jockey who rode her to both Gold Cup wins guiding her around Aintree — is a material advantage over horses partnered with riders who have not experienced her in a race.
The Historic Angle
The last mare to win the Grand National was Nickel Coin in 1951. Seventy-five years. If Panic Attack wins today, it will be one of the most significant results in the race's modern history. The market's race-day move to install her as favourite reflects not just form analysis but a genuine belief that the horse has the ability, the preparation and the conditions to achieve something remarkable.
Nick Rockett Non-Runner
Nick Rockett, the defending champion, was withdrawn on Thursday after being reported to be coughing. His absence removes one of the most credible course-form profiles from the field. Pied Piper, Gordon Elliott's reserve, has taken his place. Any market redistribution from Nick Rockett's withdrawal has flowed into the horses considered most likely to fill the vacuum he leaves — Grangeclare West and Panic Attack have both attracted support since the news broke.
The Each-Way Note
Five places are paid in the Grand National. At current morning prices, an each-way bet on Panic Attack means a meaningful return from a top-five finish. Given the quality of her form and the market's confidence in her today, the each-way structure is the most efficient way to back her.
The Bottom Line
Race-day favourite — moved past I Am Maximus on Grand National morning. Paddy Power Gold Cup and Coral Gold Cup winner this season. Harry Skelton — who rode both those wins — in the saddle. Dan Skelton targeting this all season. Good to soft ground, 34 runners, 4pm. Bidding to be the first winning mare since 1951. This is today's NAP — the horse the market, the form and the preparation all point toward on the biggest day of the jump racing year.
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