Aintree
1.45pm
Nestor Park
He was a good bumper horse and he probably ran his best race yet over hurdles when winning on soft ground over 2m6f at Newcastle last time. He went up 3lb for that win and this is his first start in handicap company, but I think the extra 2f or so could suit him and this is just his fifth start over hurdles, so there is plenty of scope for improvement. His mark looks fair.
2.25pm
Angels Breath
He was one of the disappointments of Cheltenham for me. He didn’t get the best run though the race in the Supreme but the simple fact of the matter is that he didn’t enjoy the ground that day and it was a struggle for him. We know he is a lot better than though, and maybe this longer trip will allow him to show what we know he is capable of. He definitely needed it when a good second at Kempton previously, and his pointing background suggest this 2m4f trip should really suit him. We have been happy with him since Cheltenham, and we haven’t lost our faith in him at all.
3.40pm
William Henry
As I said here in my Cheltenham debrief, we went into the Festival not entirely sure what to expect and not really fancying him that much, in truth. He hadn’t run since being pulled up at Wincanton earlier in the season and we didn’t know if a subsequent wind op had worked. But it made a fair bit of difference judged on our last-gasp win in the Coral Cup and he fully deserves his crack at this Grade 1. In fact, let’s hope he follows in the footsteps of the same owner’s Whisper, who won this race by 7 lengths in 2014 straight after winning the Coral Cup by a short-head, too! He has a very similar profile. He could probably do with a dry spell now, given that this will be his first run over this trip – he clearly handles testing ground well, but the combination of the step up to 3m on very deep ground may not be ideal for him as regards a stamina test – but I do think he shapes as if this trip won’t be a problem, both in run-style and pedigree, being a full-brother to a 3m winner. I can see him progressing and bustling up some of the proven Grade 1 performers here, and he has a good each-way chance, I think.
5.25pm – The Grand National
Step Back
I have worked and him schooled a lot in preparation for this test –including over the National-style fences in Lambourn – and have been very happy with him. He may not be quite good enough to see off the well-handicapped pair of Tiger Roll and Rathvinden – I think the betting has it right and that pair are the ones to beat – but he looks primed to run a big race. He certainly looks to have a big form chance on his runaway Sandown win last season. I wasn’t on board that day but he put up some performance to destroy the opposition in what looked a very competitive handicap beforehand, beating Rock The Kasbah, and he looks fairly weighted off just a 12lb higher mark here. That win came in first-time cheekpieces, which he wears here, and he has clearly had a light season, coming here on the back of just two runs and not having raced since January, when he ran well for a long way in the Classic at Warwick. His best efforts have come on better ground, but he does have form in soft and heavy ground, so hopefully he will be fine on that score. And if he gets into the same rhythm as he did at Sandown, then hopefully I am in for one very good spin around these fences.
AS UNIBET ARE PAYING SEVEN PLACES ON THE GRAND NATIONAL, HERE ARE THE HORSES I THINK CAN MAKE THE PLACES:
1.Tiger Roll, 2. Rathvinden, 3. Step Back, 4. Go Conquer, 5. Valtor, 6. Ramses De Teillee, 7. Anibale Fly
