The horse racing broadcaster offers up his selections for the second day of the Grand National Festival at Aintree, including one in the Grade 1 Melling Chase.
I may be biased as my other half hails from Liverpool, but it is the way the city supports the race that makes the three-day Grand National meeting the most enjoyable of the year. The quality is still high but there is a much-relaxed atmosphere, while the races over the National fences still add that extra dynamic. The main difference this year is the weather, with Ladies Day looking likely to be unseasonably warm with lobster red likely to be vying for favouritism with spray tan orange come the end of the afternoon.
Friday gets underway with a 3m Novice Chase, where DANCING CITY 12/5 (13:45 Aintree) just gets the nod over Stellar Story. The concern for both is that Caldwell Potter will have these two confirmed stayers flat out early on, but it is a step up in both class and trip for Caldwell Potter and there are others who may well be pressing the pace. It was a most uncharacteristic effort from Dancing City at the Festival – signalled by a big market drift – but he made his only mistake as the pace was lifting and this may have been the main factor as to why he compounded tamely. Overplaying last start performance both positively and negatively is a common factor of many betting markets and he may go off over the odds as a consequence. Stellar Story has a similar profile but at present the yard is a little quieter, so results on the Thursday (this being written before racing) and the market vibes for Dancing City are both key criteria to factor in.
Next up is a big field handicap over 2m4f where IMPOSE TOI 13/2 (14:20 Aintree) will be suited by the slight drop back in trip from the Coral Cup at the Festival, where he just met one too good in Jimmy Du Seuil. The application of cheekpieces – often a positive for the Henderson yard – made his jumping much sharper and if the effect is the same he can cope with the slightly higher mark. I prefer that line of form to that of the Imperial Cup and am more worried about Hansard, for whom the return to a flat track and a new trip may yield some improvement.
ROMEO COOLIO 6/4 (14:55 Aintree) sets a very high bar in the 2m Grade 1 Novices Hurdle after an excellent run behind one of the stars of the Festival in Kopek Des Bordes. He got left in front a little earlier than ideal that day and remains a terrific prospect, and in terms of form shown to date is well clear. There is the slight concern about the form of the yard and as always whether the Festival exertions will take their toll, but anything like a reproduction of that Supreme form will make him very hard to beat.
The Championship races at the Festival where littered with jumping errors ending the chances of well-fancied horses and JONBON 1/2 (15:30 Aintree) was one of those in the Champion Chase. With just four runners lining up here, there should be no repeat of the false starts that saw him unable to get his preferred position, which seemed to contribute to the bad mistake that knocked him back through the field. He had Protektorat behind him in third last year and should confirm the form and gain revenge over El Fabiolo, who beat him in the Arkle two seasons ago but has had his own jumping issues since. It is also a crucial ride for Nico De Boinville on the final day of the David Power Jockey Cup as he battles for second with Harry Cobden.
The race over the National fences is the 2m 5f Topham and here THE GOFFER 14/1 (16:05) looks one of the bets of the day, back at this sort of trip. He has been a consistent handicapper down the years but this season has rather lost his way, having been campaigned over trips he has struggled to stay. The Cross Country at the Festival was a case in point, as was the National itself last year. He lines up 10lb lower than a year ago and with the drop back in distance looking to be a big plus he definitely is worth an interest.
Last of the six ITV races sees CALIFET EN VOL 4/1 (16:40 Aintree) try 3m for the first time, having shaped as if it is a trip that would really suit in all his runs this season. He does have a flat spot but hopefully that will be less costly with more time to recover, and his form line behind The New Lion at Newbury in November has obviously been boosted by the winner since. Mister Meggit could be his most dangerous opponent, having been off the track since a very impressive debut at Aintree back in November. It is the fact that he hasn’t been seen since – and hence his lack of experience – which tilts things in favour of Califet En Vol to round off a successful and profitable afternoon for the Henderson-De Boinville combination.
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