The British Jump Racing season might only have recently come to an end, but some already have one eye on next season and what might be set to unfold at the 2027 Grand National. That includes Warwickshire-based trainer Dan Skelton. Operating out of Lodge Hill yard, just 40 minutes from Coventry, he is looking to build on his incredible success in recent months.
Skelton is coming off a record-breaking season where he became the first trainer ever to break the £5 million mark for prize money, having privately set himself the goal of surpassing the £4 million barrier. With 194 wins and 513 places out of a possible 1,023 runs, that was enough to crown him Champion Trainer at the end of the season.
One of the things missing from his CV, though, is a win in the Grand National. There’s a sense of unfinished business with just under a year to go until the race, and early odds listed by betting markets for potential Grand National runners indicate that two of Skelton’s horses are targets for the race.
Skelton pair feature in early 2027 Grand National markets
Although Skelton has experienced success at Aintree in the past, he has never had a Grand National winner. His best finish came in 2021, when Blaklion placed sixth.
In 2026, Skelton’s mare Panic Attack came into the race in good form after completing the Gold Cup double at Cheltenham and Newbury. However, she was one of several horses to fall during the race.
Bookmakers expect Panic Attack to line up again in 2027, where she is priced at 40/1 – not the shortest of Skelton’s two entries in the early market. Mr Hope Street, who won the Freebooter Handicap Chase on Grand National Day, is the shorter-priced of the two. At 33/1, there’s a belief that the eight-year-old can make the step up next season.
How the local runners compare to the favourites
Both of Skelton’s horses are behind the early favourites for the 2027 race. I Am Maximus, trained by Willie Mullins, won the 2026 Grand National after being listed as the ante-post favourite for the race.
He became the first horse since Red Rum to regain the title, having come second in 2025 after winning the race in 2024, and the gelding has been listed as the early favourite for 2027. At 12/1, he leads Iroko, who has odds of 16/1 after coming second in the 2026 Grand National.
Jordans and Johnnywho, who placed third and fourth in this year’s race, also make the top five with odds of 16/1 and 25/1 respectively. And Emmet Mullins-trained Soldier in Milan, who won the Irish Grand National, has been predicted to contend at Aintree in 2027, with sportsbooks offering odds of 16/1, putting the seven-year-old level with Iroko and Jordans in the betting.
This is a submitted article written by Gareth McGray.
