The more pessimistic forecasts for rainfall at Aintree this week failed to materialise but the going for Saturday’s race will still be the most gruelling for 23 years and only thorough stayers should be considered for inclusion on backers’ shortlists.
In that respect, the betting market has already done a lot of the legwork, as all but a couple of the runners priced up at 33-1 or below have stamina as one of their strongest suits. Narrowing them down to three or four prime candidates is much more problematic, though, and ultimately depends on an individual punter’s idea of what might be required.
Lucinda Russell has pulled off the remarkable trick of getting Corach Rambler to Aintree as arguably the best-handicapped horse in the race for the second year in a row, and his course form makes him more appealing than I Am Maximus or Meetingofthewaters at a similar sort of price.
But ultimately his chance is little better than that of runners at twice the odds, and rivals too like Panda Boy that have crept in at the bottom of the weights.
In truth, there is little juice left in most of the leading contenders’ prices, but a possible exception is the 16-1 about Mahler Mission (4.00), who has been kept fresh since November with only the National in mind.
John McConnell, his trainer, is also a little under the radar in Britain, but he has an outstanding record with his runners in this country and his first Grand National contender has a near-perfect profile for the race in terms of his age, talent, stamina and form to date.
Nicky Henderson took another significant step towards a resumption of normal service at his Lambourn stable at Aintree on Friday as Jonbon, who was scratched from the Champion Chase at Cheltenham a few hours before the race, made a successful step up to two-and-a-half miles in the Grade One Melling Chase.
Conflated, a former winner of the Irish Gold Cup, moved into a clear lead with two fences to jump but Nico de Boinville, Jonbon’s rider, got a great response from the eight-year-old after the last and steered the 11-10 favourite to a one-and-a-quarter length success.
“Everybody loves him,” Henderson said. “He’s an entertaining horse as he doesn’t make life terribly easy for everybody [but] I thin we have got the hang of him now.
“I’ve never seen him jump better [and] I think the two-and-a-half miles is probably ideal. I’m trying to get Nico to say that he will stay three, but he is reluctant at the moment. We can think about those things throughout the summer.”
Friday’s win opens up several possibilities for Jonbon, including a tilt at the Ryanair Chase at next year’s Festival.
“Should we have been thinking about the Ryanair this season? I don’t know,” Henderson added. “When we did that with Shishkin and jumped him up to two-and-a-half, we soon realised he wanted three [but] I’m not saying that about Jonbon at the moment.”
Henderson does not have a runner in Saturday’s Grand National, one of the few big races that he has yet to win, but Willie Mullins, who has several fancied contenders, showed that his string remains in rude health as he registered a Grade One double at the meeting for the second day in a row.
Mystical Power, a son of the former Champion Hurdle winner, Annie Power, finished half a length in front of Firefox in the Top Novice Hurdle, while Dancing City was a convincing five-and-a-half length winner of the Sefton Novice Hurdle.
In all, Mullins added nearly £100,000 to his prize money total for the season on Friday as he continues to press for a first-ever success in the National Hunt trainers’ championship, but he was denied another valuable prize later on the card at Arizona Cardinal finished strongly to overhaul Mullins’s James Du Berlais a few strides from the line in the Topham Handicap Chase.
Aintree 1.20 Nicky Henderson’s string is still operating some way below its normal high level, but Bold Endeavour put up the best performance of any the trainer’s 16 runners at last month’s Cheltenham Festival when he finished fourth in the Pertemps Final. If he could build on that career-best, the eight-year-old’s early price of around 25-1 could be an each-way snip.
Aintree 1.55 Caldwell Potter was the star lot in the dispersal sale when his previous owners, Andy and Gemma Brown, surprisingly sold their entire string earlier this year. He has a clear chance here to get a Grade One on the board at the first attempt for his new owners, a group that includes the former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Chelmsford 10.00 Winter Snowfall 10.30 Urban Road 11.00 Pentacle 11.30 Billy Mill 12.00 Placated 12.30 New Hope Bullet 1.05 Local Music
Chepstow 12.40 Knight Of Allen 1.10 Casa No Mento 1.40 Wise Guy 2.15 Bolsover Bill 2.50 King Of Brazil 3.32 Lady Balko 4.40 J’Habite En France
Newcastle 12.55 Fainche 1.30 One More Stroke 2.05 Choosethenews 2.40 Beneficially Yours 3.25 Atomic Angel 4.30 Rollerruler 5.05 Battle Born Lad
Aintree 1.20 Bold Endeavour 1.55 Caldwell Potter 2.20 Kilbeg King (nb) 3.05 Sire Du Berlais 4.00 Mahler Mission (nap) 5.00 Hercule Du Seuil 5.35 Castle Ivers
Yarmouth 3.40 Handel 4.25 Fighter Command 4.55 Letaba 5.30 Stone Circle 6.00 Berry Clever 6.30 Mister Mojito 7.00 Blue Collar Lad 7.30 Special Mayson
Wolverhampton 5.10 Profitman 5.40 Orchard Park 6.10 Local Hero 6.40 Damoiseau 7.10 Radio Goo Goo 7.40 Gogo Yubari8.10 Red Dwarf
Aintree 2.20 The company in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham was a little too hot for Kilbeg King to handle last time, but he remains a fine prospect for staying handicap chases.
Aintree 3.05 The admirable Sire Du Berlais is well into the veteran stage of his career but ran right up to form in the Stayers’ at Cheltenham last time and has a fine chance to register a third straight win in this race.
