Tag: Aintree

Becher Chase Preview

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The Becher Chase at Aintree on Saturday has attracted a large field for the first big event over the famous Grand National fences this season.

The going is soft so the three and a quarter miles will provide a thorough test of stamina. The conditions were similar a year ago when Chance Du Roy held off the veteran Baby Run by a length. The Philip Hobbs stable is in fantastic form at present and Chance Du Roy must have an excellent chance of repeating his victory.

The ten-year-old was never travelling before being pulled up at Haydock in January but a return visit to Aintree was always his aim. He finished fourth at Ascot to Restless Harry in February and then ran a tremendous race in the Grand National, making headway towards the leaders before fading into sixth place behind Pineau De Re.

He also finished runner-up here to Always Waining in the Topham in 2012 so Tom O’Brien will be hoping for another good spin from the son of Morespeed this weekend. He is set to race off a 6lbs higher mark than last year but course form counts for at least that much over these fences.

Goonyella travelled over from Ireland for the Welsh National last December but finished a moderate eighth. He also finished seventh in the Irish National and Jim Dreaper is hoping that he takes to these fences with a view to returning in April. He stays all day but may struggle to go the early pace in such a huge field.

Gordon Elliott’s Balbriggan won over hurdles at Sedgefield before winning the valuable Troytown Chase at Navan last month. The grey has been raised 10lbs for that victory and may just be lacking a little experience for a tough race like this.

Mendip Express should go well for Harry Fry after winning a novices’ hurdle easily on his seasonal reappearance. He looked a very promising staying chaser last season before being soundly beaten by Smad Place at Newbury. He then jumped poorly before being pulled up in the Scottish National and has been dropped 3lbs in the handicap.

The Package has been round here a few times for David Pipe but put up a laboured performance at Cheltenham last time. Stable companion Our Father was favourite for the Hennessy Gold Cup last year but made no progress from four out and finished a disappointing seventh. He unseated his rider at the Canal Turn in the National so has plenty to prove.

One who did run to form in last year’s Hennessy was Emma Lavelle’s Highland Lodge. He made a gallant attempt to make most of the running and plugged on into fourth place. The form was given a boost last week by Merry King and Houblon Des Obeaux (fifth and sixth) who finished third and second respectively in this year’s renewal. Highland Lodge raced off 136 that day and is now 4lbs lower. He ran an encouraging race to finish fifth at Chepstow in October and could go well under Andrew Thornton.

Chance Du Roy @10-1 Ladbrokes

Highland Lodge @16-1 Paddy Power

Each-way ¼ odds, 1,2,3,4

Grand National 2014 Preview

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The Grand National is finally upon us with forty horses set to tackle the famous fences and nearly four and a half miles at Aintree. It looks as if the going is likely to be almost perfect so there should be no excuses on that score for beaten horses. Only Godsmejudge (33-1) has failed to turn up from our ante-post selections so here is the final run-down.

Teaforthree (adv. 25-1)

Rebecca Curtis is reportedly delighted with his condition after the Cheltenham Gold Cup and believes that he is in better shape than a year ago. He finished third that day with Nick Scholfield aboard and the combination must have a great chance. I think 8-1 is very short for anything in this race but I’d imagine the bookies will be pushing him out to 10-1 or 11-1 tonight in order to balance the books.

Monbeg Dude (adv. 25-1)

At the start of the season I felt that this fellow may be too small and need soft ground to win a National. He shattered my theories when jumping superbly to win at Cheltenham on good ground, although he did not reproduce that at Doncaster last time. He has “The Head Waiter” Paul Carberry on board so we may need binoculars to find him early on. I fear that they may go too quick for him but hopefully he can work his way into it second time around.

Triolo D’Alene (adv. 25-1)

I re-invested some of my Hennessy Gold Cup winnings on this one for Aintree but his odds have been going in the other direction since a puzzling run in the Gold Cup. Nicky Henderson suddenly seemed to do an about-turn and rated him “a player” at Cheltenham but he was never involved. I did read that he had breathing difficulties during the race so, assuming that the problem has been rectified, all is not lost.

Big Shu (adv. 40-1)

I added the Irish raider to my portfolio after his third in the Cross Country Chase at the Festival. He was given a lot of ground to make up that day and faded a little towards the finish but it was only his second start of the season. He still looks a rattling good each-way bet to me.

Vintage Star (89-1 Betfair)

I always look through the outsiders on the day in case I have overlooked something. I keep going back to Vintage Star because he has moved into a winning position in some decent races without getting home in the heavy ground. It is difficult to tell from his form whether he will improve for better ground but he has a squeak.

Aintree Day 2 Preview

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Cheltenham form stood up remarkably well on the opening day of the Grand National meeting. Dynaste looked to be set to swoop turning for home but found little under pressure and Silviniaco Conti ground out a deserved success. It is interesting that the bookies are going 14-1 the field for the 2015 Gold Cup. That certainly suggests the absence of a superstar in the chasing ranks.

The second day also revolves largely around Cheltenham form and I’m keeping faith with O’Faolains Boy after his game win in the RSA Chase. The going will be quicker and this tighter track might be a slight concern but I haven’t seen anything to suggest that he won’t handle it. Holywell picked up a valuable Cheltenham handicap and is a difficult opponent while Many Clouds was unlucky to be brought down last time.

This could be a massive week for Rebecca Curtis who is putting the finishing touches to Teaforthree’s Grand National preparations. Presumably he will be travelling to Aintree on the day as he did last year because he hates staying away overnight. Being trained in Wales and a former festival winner for JT McNamara, there is plenty in his history to keep the racing journalists happy if he comes in front on Saturday.

The Melling Chase looks a tricky one this year with easy Cheltenham winner Ballynagour taking on the more consistent Module and Rajdhani Express. Ballynagour won so easily at the festival that he is a tempting proposition at around 6-1 but he is just as likely to pull up as bolt up! We should know our fate after half a dozen fences.

Ma Filleule ran well for a long way at the festival and looks the sort to bowl along in the Topham Chase. She looks high enough in the handicap for a six-year-old but should give us a good run at each-way odds. I’m a big fan of Double Ross who has been on the go all the winter and his Cheltenham run was given a boost by Uxizandre on Thursday. He would probably like it softer but he’s as tough as old boots and may also feature.

The races don’t come much tougher than the two and a half mile handicap hurdle on the card. Cheltenian was disappointing at the festival, especially when you consider how well Hobbs did with his other hurdlers. He was in contention until the second last but pulled up quickly but I’ve no idea what the problem was. Alavain has threatened to pick up one of these competitive handicaps and Linehan’s 5lb claim gives him a squeak.

O’Faolains Boy (2.30 Aintree) at 5-2 Coral

Ballynagour (3.05 Aintree) at 7-1 William Hill

Double Ross (3.40 Aintree) at 11-1 Totesport

Ma Filleule (3.40 Aintree) at 16-1 Coral

Alavain (4.50 Aintree) at 16-1 Coral

Aintree Day 1 Preview

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The Grand National meeting kicks off on Thursday with some top quality action. As always, there are plenty of Cheltenham winners on display and many more on a retrieval mission from last month’s festival.

The Aintree Hurdle should go the way of unlucky Champion Hurdle third The New One. I was never quite convinced by all the pre-race hype surrounding this horse at the festival as it was always in my mind that two miles is on the sharp side. His chances were dealt a hammer blow by the sad demise of Our Conor immediately in front of him and he ran on courageously to take third.

Rock On Ruby looked like a fish out of water over the larger obstacles and should enjoy being back over hurdles here. I expect him to give The New One most to do but neither is betting material.

We picked out Dynaste at 5-2 earlier in the week and he should give us a run for our money in the 6-runner Betfred Bowl. He has course and distance winning form, as does Silviniaco Conti, but the grey may just have too much speed on this track.

Our first bet on the card is for Activial in the opener. I backed him at non-runner – no bet terms for the Triumph Hurdle as it was always on the cards that Harry Fry would wait for this. He looked a smart hurdler at Kempton and I expect him to have improved enough to gain revenge on Newbury conqueror Calipto.

You have to respect Guitar Pete after another fine effort at Cheltenham and Aurore D’Estruval is another talented performer in a fascinating opener. The Triumph did not look the strongest this year and I expect Activial to come out on top.

The last race looks impossible at first glance but the Irish raider Busty Brown looks well weighted. The eight-year-old was not disgraced over a shorter trip behind Sailors Warn last time and has been placed in Grade 1 races in the past.

It is a tightly congested handicap with only 12lbs covering the entire field and Paul Carberry will have to be at his best to weave his way through 22 runners. Noel Meade doesn’t waste his time sending over horses that have no chance so I’m taking the early 12-1 and hoping for a good run. If the heavens open, have a saver on Kaylif Aramis at 14-1.

2.00 Activial at 4-1 Bet365

2.30 Dynaste at 5-2* Ante-post

5.25 Busty Brown at 12-1 Bet365

Wincanton Wednesday Preview

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The week has not exactly started with glorious spring weather and there is still a chance of soft going for the Grand National on Saturday. That will be good news for the likes of Hawkes Point and Mountainous but not so good for Triolo D’Alene and Double Seven. The big Aintree meeting opens on Thursday but there is some decent action at Wincanton tomorrow to keep punters entertained.

The one that catches my eye is Kings Bayonet, trained by Alan King. The problems in the yard at the end of last year were well documented but King’s horses are in good enough form now. Bull And Bush did us a favour last week and Kings Bayonet is another with plenty of potential.

When a yard suffers from a virus, you sometimes find that the horses have slipped down to a winning mark in the handicap and I’m expecting King to fire in a good few winners between now and the end of the season. King’s Bayonet is currently rated 117, 5lbs lower than when a beaten favourite at Wetherby in May.

His victories have come on decent ground, which may help to explain why he drifted so alarmingly in the betting at Newbury last month. He started at 16-1 in the heavy ground but looked to be travelling best of all for a long way. He emptied between the second last and the final flight to finish third to Westaway but Newbury races are generally of a decent standard.

Hopefully there should be some improvement to come and the going is currently good to soft which should suit him. He was no world-beater on the level but he did win a decent handicap at Newbury under Hayley Turner and a maiden at Wolverhampton. He looks worth a flutter at around 6-1.

The obvious danger is V Neck in the JP McManus colours. He has not been out of the first two in three races for Paul Nicholls and will almost certainly start favourite with AP McCoy in the saddle. Jonjo O’Neill’s Carlton Jack has also been consistent but was well beaten last time and has plenty of weight. Henryville looks a bigger threat after winning at Fontwell and finish a good second at Exeter last time.

Nick Gifford’s Generous Ransom won last time and Patsys Castle is in with a squeak if you ignore his last run in a hot race at Ascot. Hopefully Kings Baronet can put some money in the coffers with Aintree just around the corner!

Kings Bayonet at 6-1 Bet365, Ladbrokes

Betfred Bowl Preview

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Few people enjoyed the Cheltenham Festival as much as David Pipe this year as he saddled three winners. The shock victory of Western Warhorse was followed by victories for Dynaste (Ryanair) and Ballynagour (Byrne Group Plate).

Most form pundits reckoned Pipe’s best chances of a festival winner lay with his novice hurdlers but hopefully they will have other days. The show moves on to Aintree this week and Dynaste is ready to step back up in distance for the Betfred Bowl. Normally this might be a concern for a Ryanair winner but not in this case.

Had the King George VI Chase gone to plan, Dynaste would almost certainly have lined up for the Cheltenham Gold Cup this year. He had finished in front of Silviniaco Conti and Bobs Worth in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and is already a three-mile winner at Liverpool. To my eyes, he looked flat out for much of the way at Cheltenham over two and a half miles and will be much more at home over the longer trip.

Last year, Dynaste made amends for his defeat at the festival by winning the Mildmay decisively. The forecast is varied but the going should not be any worse than good to soft and that will suit the grey. Silviniaco Conti didn’t do a lot wrong in the Gold Cup but had to settle for fourth place in a scrambling finish. He ran at this fixture last year and put in a lifeless performance and I’d be a bit cautious again this season.

You do get the occasional shock result at this meeting with the hard race at Cheltenham taking its toll on some of the leading fancies. I don’t think that will apply to the main protagonists here as they have had a very light campaign. The 5-2 about Dynaste looks worth a bet.

Our ante-post book for the Grand National on Saturday suffered a minor setback with Godsmejudge pulled out by Alan King. I feared the worst when he was pulled up on his last start but he may be back in time for the Scottish equivalent. I wouldn’t mind a bit of rain for any of our remaining wagers, although the 25-1 about Teaforthree looks the most eye-catching. I’m still quite keen on Big Shu, although he would definitely appreciate some rain by the weekend.

Dynaste (Betfred Bowl) at 5-2 Skybet, Bet Victor