Grand National horses from England - Midlands

Ain’t That A Shame has run in the Grand National twice before, once when tailed off in seventeenth place three-years-ago and then running much better when finishing sixth behind I Am Maximus two years ago.

Since that second run in the National, he has only seen a racecourse once in nearly two years and that was when falling at Kelso at the end of February.

This gelding is twelve-year-old now and has since moved stables after being sold as part of David Maxwell’s dispersal sale and is now trained by Tom Ellis. The handicapper has given Ain’t That A Shame anice reduction in his handicap mark and he will run from a mark of eight pounds lower than his good run two years ago. 

It’s very difficult to guess how much ability Ain’t That A Shame retains and but the fact that he is a well-handicapped horse who has shown a liking for the course may make him attractive to the more optimistic each-way punters.

L’Homme Presse has been an amazing horse for his connections, winning nine races and amassing over £600,000 of prize money.

The highlight of the eleven-year-old gelding’s victories is probably the Brown Advisory Novice Chase at the Cheltenham Festival four seasons ago but he has been remarkably consistent along the way.

The handicapper is fully aware of L’Homme Presse’s consistency and has taken no chances, allocating him a mark of 164 for Aintree. 

Grand National winning trainer Venetia Williams’ stable star did finish second in a handicap this season from a mark of 162 but it is a huge ask to expect him to be able to win a Grand National from such a loft handicap rating.

Panic Attack boasts a perfect record so far this season with three impressive victories, including two white-hot valuable handicaps.

This season began with a win in the Paddy Power Handicap Chase at Cheltenham where the Dan Skelton trained mare was an authoritative four length winner. Connections elected to roll the dice again quickly, lining up in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury just two weeks later. This time Panic Attack was arguably even more impressive when dismissing any doubts about the step up in trip to demolish a high-quality field by six-and-a-half lengths.

Those two big handicap victories saw the mare’s handicap mark sky rocket by twelve pounds to 147 and since then the shrewd Skelton operation found what looked like a penalty kick of a Listed Mares Chase where Panic Attack sauntered home to another wide-margin victory.

Connections then favoured a tilt at the Mares Chase at the Cheltenham Festival but Panic Attack did not show her usual zip there and was beaten over ten lengths into third by Dinoblue. 

It appears a trip to Aintree may still be on the cards but despite her winning run Panic Attack is not guaranteed a place in the Grand National. The ten-year-old will need a number of horses above her in the handicap to come out of the race for her to make the final field and even then she has a number of historical negatives to overcome. Firstly, no mare has won the Grand National since 1951 (although Magic Of Light finished runner-up in 2019) and also that the last ten winners of the big race at Aintree have all been aged in single figures. 

More of a concern for her supporters is the fact that her sire, Canford Cliffs, has yet to have a runner contest a chase of over three miles and three furlongs so Panic Attack’s ability to stay marathon distances has to be taken completely on trust.

Despite the question marks, Panic Attack is likely to be extremely popular if she makes the final field for the 2026 Grand National.