DAN SKELTON RANDOX GRAND NATIONAL FESTIVAL TEAM 2026
ACE OF SPADES (William Hill Handicap Hurdle) (Saturday)
“He won at the track at the start of the season and he races over three miles well now. He didn’t win the Pertemps, but he ran nicely. I think we were a bit far forward with him in his run style that day. I think he can be very competitive again.”
BE AWARE (William Hill Manifesto Novices’ Chase/Hallgarten & Novum Wines Maghull Novices’ Chase)
“I think we will go two and a half miles with him in the Manifesto. He was a bit underwhelming in the Grand Annual, but he is just not easy as he charges out there. He probably does too much in a big field. He is not easy, but he has got plenty of ability and I’m sure it will all drop into place one day.
“He is not the type of horse that I can say is one hundred percent reliable and will do exactly what we expect him to do as mentally he is not like that. This race is only going to be a small field and that will suit him. He will be a player, but he is not going to be the most obvious favourite.
"I’m sure there will be something that has been kept fresh from Cheltenham in this race. He has got to be a player based on his numbers and the performances he can put up in novice chases. I might enter him in the Maghull in case it turns up softer, but looking at the forecast I think we are looking at fair ground.”
BOBBY’S NELSON (William Hill Handicap Hurdle) (Saturday)
“He is new to us and has joined us from Philip Hobbs and Johnson White along with Starzand.
"He would need a lot of rain to run in this so we will just have to wait and see what happens with the weather."
BOOMBAWN (Randox Topham Handicap Chase)
“Boombawn is now starting to come down to a more realistic mark. I still don’t think he is quite there yet myself. I think he has paid the price for having such a good novice chase season.
"The ground is going to be right for him, he has loads of experience and the fences should be fine for him. He is coming down to a mark where you think he could be dangerous, but like I say I can’t say he is absolutely there now as the handicapper did give him that hard response."
BOSSMAN JACK (Turners Mersey Novices’ Hurdle)
“I think he would have been second had he jumped the last in the Turners at the Cheltenham Festival. He possibly lacked a little bit of experience than some of others in that race as he had gone the quiet route as we had to start later on with him.
“We only went in regular novice hurdles and he hadn’t been in any graded races before Cheltenham.
"We thought he was a very good horse going into it and it was great to see him confirm that. There is a lot more to come in the future with him. I think he will go very well and I think this track will suit him better than Cheltenham to be honest with you."
CHARLUS (Debenhams Handicap Hurdle)
“We will possibly run Charlus in this. He ran in the Martin Pipe at the Cheltenham Festival, but he didn’t stay that extended two and a half miles so we could drop him back in trip here.
“If he gets in I think he will run really well over a fast-run two miles on a flat track.”
COOLTOBECARELESS (Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race)
“He was good at Fakenham, but it is a big step from Fakenham to Aintree. That bit nicer ground will be no problem for him.
"I’ve had this race in mind for him since he won that day around Fakenham as he has got a bit of pace."
DALSTON LAD (Oddschecker Sefton Novices’ Hurdle)
“We have kept Dalston Lad for this after he won the Grade Two at Haydock Park. "He saw the three miles out really well that day and it was a good display.
“He is a great thre- miler in that you keep shovelling the coal on and he keeps burning. I like that with them three milers.
“He had good bumper form last season. We dropped him in first time out at Cheltenham and he didn’t run well, but I think he just hated being in behind as he has been totally different since. I’m very happy to see what he can do.”
DEAFENING SILENCE (William Hill Handicap Chase)
“He has had a good season. He underwhelmed in the Midlands Grand National, but before then he had finished in the first four in several big staying handicaps.
“I’ve been happy with what he has shown this season as it has been more than what he showed in the season before.
“He wouldn’t mind a little bit more cut in the ground dropping back in trip, but he has held his form well. We can go there and be optimistic.”
DOYEN QUEST (William Hill Mildmay Novices’ Chase)
“He comes here fresh and I think that is a real asset to him. He has got some good novice chase from and the track will really suit him. Three miles around there will also suit him.
“That freshness will count for an awful lot in this race. I feel like he has got the ability to win a race like this in these circumstances when he is fresh and perhaps a few others aren’t.
“He won’t be top rated in it, but they might have been to Cheltenham and have had a hard race. I’ve seen horses win these types of races before that have missed Cheltenham and been fresh. They have exceeded their abilities on what you think they might do going into it.
“He is super fresh and super ready. He will run his best race of the season.”
EMID’IO PEPE (William Hill Handicap Hurdle) (Friday)
“He is a new horse that we bought from France. He is a chaser, but as I said to his owner we can have a look at Aintree.
"He is rated one hundred and thirty over hurdles and he is a nice horse. His work has been decent, but he does look like a chaser. I look forward to going over fences with him, but he should be competitive here as he has loads of experience from France.”
ETALON (Randox Topham Handicap Chase)
“Etalon is entered in the Topham, but I might just look at some alternatives with him. He was badly handicapped when he won at Ascot, then he was really badly handicapped when he got put up for that win.
“When he won at Ascot that was the best ride I have seen on any of my horses all season. If he goes there I think he will handle the fences."
FAIVOIR (William Hill Handicap Hurdle, Friday)
“He has been there and done all the dances. He has been a real good servant to us down the years.
"Although he has not won this season he has managed to finish third in the Greatwood and the William Hill at Newbury. If he goes I’m sure he will run his race.”
FORTHFACTOR (Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race)
“He won on his debut for us under a penalty at Hexham then he ran really well in a Listed race at Ascot behind Bass Hunter, who has since finished third in the Champion Bumper.
"I expect the track here to really suit this lad.”
GLANCE AT MIDNIGHT (William Hill Handicap Hurdle, Friday)
“Glance At Midnight is another new horse to us and is another one that perhaps stands out on his handicap mark.
"He finished second in the Sidney Banks behind Act Of Innocence and Sinnatra was third. This horse has stayed off his mark of one hundred and thirty which would make him look quite interesting here.
“He is also a chaser, but off that mark, given what the horses around him have done, he would look very interesting. I liked his form and I like his sire Passing Glance, who has been good to us. He was entered at Cheltenham, but he was never going to go and I thought this was the appropriate race for him.”
GREY DAWNING (Racing Welfare Bowl/JCB Melling Chase)
“It was an absolutely fantastic run in the Gold Cup. If you can finish in the top four in a Gold Cup you are a very good horse. The margins between first and second, second and third, and third and fourth, people will go what did the fourth run to.
“I can tell you now he ran to an unbelievable level because to be there turning in and putting it up to them going down to the second last and still be in there pitching in takes an incredible horse to be there at that point.
"He stayed the trip in the Gold Cup, just the three in front of him stayed it better. He does have pace and he is not a slow horse. He has won a two and a half mile Grade One so it gives us that option of going back in trip.
“He will start off in the Betfair Chase next season as it does suit him, but by the spring we will look at a Ryanair as we can’t win a Gold Cup. We stepped Protektorat back in trip to win a Ryanair after being placed in a Gold Cup.
“It may be that we try Grey Dawning here over slightly shorter in the Melling. We will just see what the entries look like and what the ground is like. I’m not worried about him having the toe to go that pace over two and a half miles as he has got the class and that is what you need."
HARRY LOWES (Debenhams Handicap Hurdle/William Hill Handicap Hurdle, Friday)
“Harry Lowes handicap mark handicap mark might not be quite high enough to get him in this, but he has got some good form.
“He won nicely the last time, and the time before that he got beat by Scorpio Rising, who has since won the EBF Final at Sandown Park, so that is good form. If he didn’t get in here I might run him in the conditional jockeys’ race over two miles, if we got slower ground.”
HELTENHAM (Randox Topham Handicap Chase)
“I might run Heltenham in the Topham as well. His race history is littered with lots of ones, mostly around Newbury.
"He has got the odd fall in there, but when he falls he just falls over as he can be daft. He has been a good horse to the yard and he won the Greatwood this season which was his big day.
“It will be interesting to see how he gets on over these fences as he is the type of horse that could see them and has more respect for them than a park fence.”
L’EAU DU SUD (JCB Melling Chase)
“We can’t wait for the Celebration Chase with him as we have got Thistle Ask for that, and that is perfect for him.
“We have been running over two miles and he has been running very well. We fancied him for the Champion Chase and he ran well. A more restricted ride would have seen us finish second, but we weren’t there to be second as we were giving it our all.
“He got a perfect trip around, but he wasn’t quite good enough. We have got to do something different and currently my thinking is let’s step him up in trip.
“Maybe I’ve been running him over the wrong trip all my life, although I don’t think I have, but you never know. He has got to run as if you don’t run him here where do you run him.
“In theory he is better off a long break, but if you look at his finishing position behind Il Etait Temps in the Tingle Creek and behind him in the Champion Chase there are pennies of difference.
“He is in good form and he had a little freshen up after Cheltenham for a week. "He is ready to go and do his best. It will be interesting to see him over two and a half miles.”
LISTENTOYOURHEART (William Hill Handicap Hurdle, Saturday)
“She is a possibility for the extended three mile handicap hurdle on the Saturday. She stayed three miles very well in a mares’ Listed race the other day.
“She didn’t stay it as well as the winner, but she stayed the trip and she did come there travelling quite well.”
MADARA (Randox Topham Handicap Chase)
“Madara is favourite for the Topham. He is in great form and he came out of his Plate win well. He probably didn’t have as hard a race as some of them as he won handily.
"The handicapper bumped him ten pounds, but that is fine he has to put him up something. Five pounds wouldn’t have been enough and a stone would have been too much.
"I don’t know if the handicapper is right or wrong going down the middle as this could still be a graded horse. If he is then he has to take this next step.
“I don’t see the fences being an issue and I think the track will be fine. There is an element of lottery when you go over those fences with that many runners, but he knows how to handle a big field and I’m sure granted a clear round he will be bang there at the end.”
MAESTRO CONTI (Boodles Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle)
“My intention is to run Maestro Conti. He was a good second in the Triumph Hurdle.
“He ran really well that day, but he just found one of Willie’s (Apolon De Charnie) travelling a bit too well upsides him up the last. Our lad stayed on really well and I was really happy with everything I saw.
“He is an improving horse as he is getting bigger, stronger and better all the time. I’m very happy with him. This is a different test to the Triumph Hurdle, but he has won around a flat track at Kempton Park so I don’t think there are any negatives to be honest with you.”
MIRABAD (Hallgarten & Novum Wines Maghull Novices’ Chase)
“He was very disappointing at Bangor the last day as he never raised a gallop or jumped a twig. I’m hoping it was just a real day off.
“He did have a hard race at Kempton Park over Christmas and he then had a hard race in the Kingmaker so he might have just been feeling the effects of those.
“We have freshened him right up and I think he is a little bit better on better ground. There will not be many runners in the race, which is a plus. He has got to out perform himself to get some serious prizemoney, but we have campaigned him for that to happen and hopefully he will repay our patience.”
MR HOPE STREET (William Hill Handicap Chase)
“He has one very fine piece of chasing form up at Haydock Park when he was third behind The Jukebox Man in a graduation chase at Haydock Park.
“He ran nicely the last day, but it was a race against time to run him the last day. This is a bit more like it. If he gets in the race I would say he has got a nice chance. He would have got in the race last year so hopefully his mark will get him in this year’s race.”
NAN’S CHOICE (Goffs Nickel Coin Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race)
“She is a new horse to us and she won her bumper last time out at Gowran Park. She is fresh to us and her work at home has been good.
“Her performance last time out we were happy with what we saw, otherwise we wouldn’t have bought her. She is quite a nice mare.”
PALAMON (Close Brothers Red Rum Handicap Chase)
“The Red Rum is normally a race we have one or two runners in, but just how things have fallen this season we haven’t and last year’s runner-up Calico will head to Ayr.
“I’m going to give Palamon an entry in the Red Rum and we will see if he gets in, but he is also entered at Plumpton on Easter Monday. He could be interesting if he got into this on some decent ground.”
PANIC ATTACK (Randox Grand National)
“She is guaranteed a run in the Grand National which is great. On betting, and regarding a build up, we have probably never had a better chance in the Grand National.
“No mare has won it for a long time, but she loves racing and I think she wants a real trip nowadays. We did run her in the Mares’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, but, although she ran very well, she was flat out the whole way. We thought we could get close to Dinoblue, but unfortunately she didn’t.
“She is going to get her chance to try this marathon trip off a nice weight. We have raced her since the turn of the year as we feel like you need to get some miles into these Grand National horses.
"She has held her form well and looks great. She looks the correct horse for it. She has won a Coral Gold Cup, stays well and likes nice ground. Tactically she is versatile, we just now have to see if she is good enough.
“She has been remarkable this season. It might simply be because she is sounder that she has found it easier this season. She is now on a mark where she is really going to get asked a question, but we are delighted to have her.”
PROTEKTORAT (Racing Welfare Bowl/Melling Chase)
“We have kept him fresh for Aintree. I never felt that we should go to Cheltenham this year as he went there the year before and he finished fourth in the Ryanair having won it the year before that.
"For want of a better word they are just achieving more than us going to Cheltenham and that is based on his age.
"When he is fresh I still think he can be a real force. He has got to be taken more seriously because he has missed Cheltenham. He has won at the track before. "We have never come here having missed Cheltenham before, except when a Grade One as a novice chaser. History shows it can be done.
"Which race I run him in I’m not sure. We will see what the ground is like and then make a decision. I was thinking of going three miles one furlong with him.”
RISKY OBSESSION (Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race)
“He won well at Warwick. He dropped his head well and galloped on well all the way to the line.
“We tried him in that unraceable ground at Newbury the next day, but he hated that so you can put a line through that. We have given him plenty of time and we feel like he is a good individual."
ROYAL INFANTRY (William Hill Handicap Hurdle, Saturday)
“He has had a bit of an update down season this time around, but he was second this time last year in a Listed race up at Perth.
“He is doing well around his mark of one hundred and thirty nine. He was not far off them in a decent race at Windsor and hopefully it will be the same here."
SINNATRA (Thatprizeguy Top Novices’ Hurdle)
“We will switch Sinnatra back to novice company for the two mile Grade One novices’ hurdle on the Friday.
"We have not shielded him this season as we have got on and run him and he has actually improved for running all the time. I think this type of race will really suit him.
“A flat track is no issue as he bolted up at Warwick before he went to Cheltenham and put up a good run in the County Hurdle.
“We have been running him as he needs to get on with life a bit as he thinks it is all a bit of a game, but running in him in those races has made him a better horse. Some you have to be cautious, but with him you can dip in and say ‘come on, get on with it.’
“Again he won’t be the leader on figures, but I’m sure he will go very well here.”
SNIPE (Randox Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase)
“I think I will run Snipe in the Foxhunters’ as well. He has danced all the dances and run over all kinds of trips. He won a two mile hunter chase race last time, just because he was the highest rated.
“He gives his owners a great time out and I’m sure he will be competitive again. He doesn’t have the level of ability in his handicap mark that Unexpected Party has, but he will give his running.”
SOLDIER REEVERS (Turners Mersey Novices’ Hurdle)
“He ran really well in the Turners at the Cheltenham Festival to fly home and finish fourth. I think two and a half miles really suits him and reverting to a flat track like this will be no issue at all.
“He loves his racing and I think he will be competitive. He is only five, but he just loves running. I think going over the extended three miles here would be a bit too much for a five-year-old and he will be better suited at this trip."
SUPREME MALINAS (Oddschecker Sefton Novices’ Hurdle)
“She would get the seven pounds mares’ allowance in the Sefton, and she wants three miles, but we have other entries for her.
"I’m happy with the season she has had without being blown away by it, although she did win a Listed race earlier in the season.”
SUPREMELY WEST (William Hill Handicap Hurdle, Saturday/Liverpool Hurdle)
“He got whacked up nine pounds for winning the Pertemps. He will be entered in the extended three mile handicap hurdle, but I think he is likely to run in the Liverpool Hurdle.
“He won the Pertemps so why not try it. If we go and finish fourth then he is a handicapper, but we will try it. The track will be no issue and he is in good form.
“I think he likes better ground nowadays. All of his best form was on bottomless ground before he joined us, but I’m not convinced he loves all that.
“Historically when we have done this they have run well and finished second or third. That would be no poor performance as I think it is hard to make the jump as it is a different league.”
TAKE NO CHANCES (Liverpool Hurdle)
“She has been great in these graded races and she ran another fine race in the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. I think this extended three miles is much more like it.
“She will get her seven pounds allowance, but she does just find it hard to win a Grade One. We were third in the Aintree Hurdle last year and I imagine she will be bang there.”
THE MIGHTY CELT (Boodles Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle/Debenhams Handicap Hurdle)
“We may run The Mighty Celt in the Grade One juvenile hurdle as well. He ran nicely in the Fred Winter, but he might just be better on a flat track.
"He did run well around Haydock Park first time out for us where he finished third that day. I’ve entered him in the Scottish Champion Hurdle as well, and I will also put him in the conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle at Aintree as he would get a weight allowance for being a four-year-old.
“He would have a bit to find with Maestro Conti in the Grade One, but it is a race that can throw up odd results.”
THE NEW LION (William Hill Aintree Hurdle)
“It is very much the intention to run The New Lion in the Aintree Hurdle. He is at home over two and a half miles and that was his trip last season.
"I’m absolutely fine with two miles as at the end of the day he has finished third in a Champion Hurdle. He is a very good two miler he just isn’t quite a Champion Hurdler.
"He has probably got the stamina to better over two and a half miles, which is a great position to be in. We’ve not over raced him this season and I feel like he goes there in great shape. The track is no issue for him at all. There are lots of ticks in all the right boxes.
"I’m not concerned about who we take on, and I wasn’t concerned about who we took on in the Champion Hurdle.
“I can only talk about our horse and I think everything is set fair for him to put up another massive run. His Champion Hurdle was a career best, okay only by a couple of pounds, but his races and his performances have got better. I think he will go very well."
TORMUND GIANTSBANE (Oddschecker Sefton Novices' Hurdle)
“He is also owned by the same people that have Dalston Lad and I think he is a smart horse. If we look at this and he is completely wrong at the weights we may think about doing something else, but I’m tempted to let him go into it.
“I think this is an improving horse. He will go chasing next season and I would have graded aspirations for him as a novice chaser. I don’t mind if he goes up five or six pounds for finishing third in something like this.
“He is a totally different horse to Dalston Lad as he travels quite well and he does see it out well.”
UNEXPECTED PARTY (Randox Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase)
“I think he is a worthy favourite for this race. I’ve got a lot of respect for the Cheltenham Festival winner (Barton Snow) as he looked very good that day.
"We have trained Unexpected Party for this race this season. He has won a couple of hunters’ chases’ and he loves being in that sphere. The trip will be no issue and I think the fences will light him up.
“We are really happy with him and we have trained him up for it. He is clear on ratings and hopefully it turns out like that. He has been a great horse to us and loves his job.
“He didn’t quite have the legs to stick with them in normal races towards the back end of the autumn and into the winter. This is a nice environment for him and I’ve never had a hunter chase as highly rated. Heidi (Palin) gets on well with him so hopefully they have a good spin."
and Haiti Couleurs, who had just started to weaken. It was a combination of horses weakening and L'homme Presse finishing well that saw him get up for 5th though. At 11 years of age, it was highly unlikely he'd be quick enough when it mattered in a Gold Cup, however, the 4m2f trip, where he doesn't get so readily outpaced, may now be up to his liking and at 100/1 with Bet365, I'm happy to play him.
