AINTREE – FRIDAY
2:20 Handicap Hurdle
JANGO BAIE (NICO DE BOINVILLE) We considered the two-and-a-half-mile Grade One, but having discussed everything with Nico and his owners, we decided this race provided a good opportunity. While it’s a typically competitive race, he is a Grade One winner (at the course) and has run to a high level in both subsequent starts, carrying a penalty. The drop down into Handicap Company for the first time could be an interesting move, and he has no issues with soft ground.
3:30 G1 Melling Chase
JONBON (NICO DE BOINVILLE) Everything has gone very well with him, and it was unfortunate we had to sit out for Champion Chase because, after what happened to El Fabiolo, I am pretty sure he’d have been the one to beat. Honestly, he wasn’t that sick, but it was an easy decision to skip Cheltenham because it wasn’t worth risking. I really think the step-up in the trip will suit, and assuming he stays, which I’m sure he will, it does open up our options for next season. Who knows, we could even stretch him out further. Nico has been schooling him this week, and he has been brilliant, as he always is. I’m really looking forward to running him.
4:05 Topham Chase
FANTASTIC LADY (NICO DE BOINVILLE) She was in the Grand National and would probably have got a run, and had it been good ground, we would have seriously considered having a go, but this is a much more realistic trip, and she ran a great race when second last year off 141. She jumps for fun, especially over these fences, and hopefully, she can be competitive.
4:40 G1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle
SHANAGH BOB (NICO DE BOINVILLE) He was another one we pulled out of Cheltenham, but he’s a horse we like an awful lot. Whatever he does over hurdles will be a bonus because he could be a very exciting Novice Chaser next year. We started him off at Plumpton, which is an unusual path to Cheltenham, I must admit, but he won well there and backed that up with an easy victory in the Albert Bartlett Trial. This is another step up, but he’s a tough customer who isn’t that flashy in his homework but gets the job done, and he’s very much an unknown quantity.
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