Well, our day 1 selections were an absolute disaster with none of our horses running creditable races. Modus doubled in price and ran accordingly in the opener and judging by his jumping I don’t think he was in love with the ground. Beau Gosse ran well to a point but between the last two his effort petered out and perhaps it wasn’t quite soft enough for him.
I am not sure what happened Double Shuffle as on his Kempton form he was entitled to be a lot closer to the principals. Cyrus Darius travelled well for a long way but he faded in the final furlong and could only manage 5th. Tommy Silver and Vosne Romanee hated the ground and neither could land a blow Hopefully we do better on Day 2 and considering how Day 1 went that shouldn’t be hard!
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| Cornborough is a previous course winner. |
A very competitive 20f handicap hurdle kicks off Day 2 of the Grand National Festival at Aintree and 20 runners have been declared. After watching the racing on Thursday the ground is definitely closer to soft than good, so an ability to handle a bit of cut will be key. One horse at a massive price who won’t mind the ground is former course winner Cornborough.
This 7yo son of Sir Percy is a dual purpose type and he has won three flat races as well as three races over timber. His last hurdling win came here in June 2016 off a mark of 126 and although he hasn’t won since his current mark of 125 shows that he has been very consistent. Jamie Hamilton is a fine jockey and Cornborough carries just 10st 1lbs. His staying on 4th at Cheltenham in December (17f soft) suggested he was worth a try over further and if the step up to 20f suits he could outrun his odds of 50/1.
Another former course winner who could go well at a massive price is Court Minstrel for Isabel and Evan Williams. This fella is an 11yo now but he still retains plenty of ability and he showed that when beating Sam Spinner at Chepstow in October off 142 (19.5f gd/sft). His run at Ascot after a short break should have put him spot on for this and at 28/1 he could go well.
STEVOS’ SELECTIONS: COURT MINSTREL E/W 28/1; CORNBOROUGH E/W 50/1
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| Lalor scoring here in 2017. |
The second race of the day is the Top Novices’ Hurdle and this Grade 1 contest is run over a distance of 16.5f. Global Citizen is the current favourite at odds of 9/4 after his Grade 2 romp at Kempton last time when he slammed the field by 10L (16f gd). He has a novice win on soft but that was a weak race and it remains to be seen if he is good enough on easy ground in a race of this quality.
Lalor is a horse I fancied to do big things this season but unfortunately things haven’t gone quite to plan. Last year’s Grade 2 bumper winner here ran well in some decent novice hurdles in the first half of this season without winning and he found the going too tough when well beaten in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury.
However, I think this is a better horse than he has shown so far this year and this race has likely been the target for some time. The booking of Richard Johnson catches the eye and he has had a couple of months off to freshen up after Newbury. Johnson was on board when he won here in 2017 so hopefully he can work the oracle again and at odds of 16/1 Lalor is the each way selection.
STEVOS’ SELECTION: LALOR E/W @ 16/1
Race 3
The Grade 1 Mildmay Novices’ Chase is the third race on Day 3 and stamina will be at a premium in this 25f contest. Plenty of the market leaders showed up at Cheltenham and had tough races there so, especially over this distance, it could pay to side with one that didn’t show up at Prestbury Park.
Snow Falcon unseated at the 13th fence in the Irish Grand National just 11 days ago so he didn’t have a hard race. He was hampered so the mishap wasn’t his fault and it shouldn’t have had an impact on his confidence.
He ran an absolute cracker here 12 months ago when close up in 3rd behind Yanworth and Supasundae, and there is nothing of their calibre in this contest. Sean Flanagan is a quality pilot, there are no worries regarding ground or trip and at odds of 11/1 I think Snow Falcon has the credentials to run a massive race.
STEVOS’ SELECTION: SNOW FALCON E/W @ 11/1
Race 4
There might only be 6 horses lining up in the 20f Grade 1 Melling Chase, but while it lacks in quantity it is chock full of quality. Min found just Altior too good in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham and a repeat of that run should suffice here. He had Politologue well behind in 4th and I can see no reason why the Nicholls horse should reverse the form.
At a bigger price I think Cloudy Dream could be the one to chase Min home. Okay, he was 12L behind Balko Des Flos at Cheltenham but I think the combination of slightly better ground and the return to Aintree could be in Cloudy Dream’s favour. His form figures at Aintree read 222 and he could add another 2 to that sequence on Friday. At odds of 12/1 he is the each way alternative to the favourite and a small reverse forecast is advised.
STEVOS’ SELECTION: MIN 6/4 WIN; CLOUDY DREAM E/W 12/1. (REV FCAST ADVISED).
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| Highland Lodge loves the Grand National fences. |
Just the 30 horses to choose from in the Topham Chase and this looks an exceedingly tricky puzzle to solve. Run over the Grand National Fences over a trip of 21f there is sure to be no shortage of drama and luck usually plays a big part in a race of this nature. Hold up horse will be hostage sto fortune and the one I like at a nice enough price is old friend of the blog Highland Lodge.
This fella comes alive over these fences and he went well for a long way in the Grand National last year before his stamina gave out. He was a fine 3rd here on ground softer than ideal behind Blaklion back in December off 138 (26f hvy) and he races off 3lb lower today. He has been given a break since being pulled up at Haydock and that is a big plus as he goes very well fresh. I think he looks sure to give each way backers a good run for their money at odds of 16/1.
STEVOS’ SELECTION: HIGHLAND LODGE E/W @ 16/1 NB
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| Don't lose faith in Tower Bridge. |
The penultimate race on Day 2 of the Aintree Grand National Festival is the Grade 1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle. A field of 14 horses will go to post for this 24.5f contest and it looks an extremely competitive renewal. Tower Bridge scored for us at odds of 40/1 at Leopardstown back in February and after a fine run in the Albert Bartlett I think he could be worth siding with again here.
JJ Slevin keeps the ride and he gets on very well with this lightly raced son of High Chaparral. The 5yo will be having just his 5th start over timber and his last two runs have come in Grade 1s. He only has a couple of lengths to find with OK Corral and Santini who were in front of him at Cheltenham and I suspect he might be a better horse on this slightly better ground. At 10/1 he represents the best value in the race and he is a confident each way selection.
STEVOS’ SELECTION: TOWER BRIDGE E/W @ 10/1 NAP
Race 7
No bet for me in this bumper.
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