Day 1 of Aintree’s Grand National meeting gets underway today and there are plenty of horses running this afternoon who also ran at the Cheltenham Festival.
The ground was testing there and it is testing here too, so it will be interesting to see how those that ran at Prestbury Park bounce back here.
If that wasn’t enough of a conundrum, we also don’t know whether Nicky Henderson's horses have recovered yet, so there has to be an element of guesswork in some of our tips today.
We are going to swerve the Henderson runners for now, but we’ll have to wait until the second race for any clues as to the well being of his yard as he doesn’t have an entry in the Manifesto Novices’ Chase which kicks of proceedings at 1.45.
MANIFESTO NOVICES’ CHASE
First and second (respectively) in the Turners Novices' Chase, Grey Dawning and Ginny’s Destiny lock horns again here.
However, provided he jumps better than he did in the Arkle Chase, both may have to go some to beat IL ETAIT TEMPS, who stayed on strongly in the closing stages at Cheltenham to suggest this trip suits him better nowadays.
He may also be better on this flatter track and is available at 3/1, while Colonel Harry should also run well at a much bigger price.
ANNIVERSARY 4-Y-O JUVENILE HURDLE
Sir Gino is the first Henderson runner on the card and he has been weak in the market for the Anniversary Hurdle this morning.
He faces a small but select field here, and decent chances can be given to five of the six runners.
We would suggest backing both Jospeh O’Brien runners at double figure prices in the hope that one of them can cause a minor surprise.
Crucially, both INTELLOTTO and NURBURGRING love heavy ground and O’Brien has an excellent crop of juveniles to pick from this season.
BOWL CHASE
The Bowl Chase is Aintree’s equivalent of the Gold Cup and the runner up from that race, Gerri Colombe, heads the market here.
He looked to have a hard race at Cheltenham and is worth opposing at the prices.
CORBETTS CROSS also ran at the Festival, but he won the National Hunt Chase with a fair bit in hand and has had a few extra days to recover.
He looked a horse to follow that day and he could easily develop into a Gold Cup horse for next season.
Bravemansgame and Ahoy Senor also ran in the Gold Cup.
Both would prefer better ground, so don’t be surprised if one hits the frame at a big price and the outsider we’d suggest an interest in is THUNDER ROCK, who comes here fresh and ready for even more of a stamina test than he has faced before.
AINTREE HURDLE
The Aintree Hurdle is the fourth Grade 1 in a row on the opening day and the market sees it as a match between Impaire Et Passe and BOB OLINGER.
We think the latter has the stronger claims and will enjoy stepping back up to this intermediate trip. This looks to have been his target all season.
IF the Henderson horses have shown any signs of life in the earlier contests, MARIE’S ROCK could be of interest form those looking for one at a bigger price.
FOXHUNTERS’ OPEN HUNTERS’ CHASE
The first race over the big fences is the Foxhunters’ at 4.05.
In these conditions, there are likely to only be a few finishers and our three against the field are BENNYS KING, SPYGLASS HILL and GABORIOT.
RED RUM HANDICAP CHASE
Our selections for the Red Rum Handicap Chase are SAINT ROI and HELTENHAM.
MARES’ STANDARD OPEN NH FLAT RACE
In the final race our picks are METKAYINA and the 100/1 shot WEDNESDAY ADDAMS.
