Aintree
1.45pm
Champagne Platinum
He ran a very solid race for me when seventh in the Pertemps, and he clearly has an each-way shout here off the same mark. And he is still a relatively lightly-raced 7yo who will like the ground.
2.25pm
Pipesmoker
He showed a lot of ability behind class horses in Chantry House and Sporting John last season, but he hasn’t been an easy horse to train. So he was having his first start for over a year when he reappeared at Sandown in February, a race in which everything was going well and to plan until he made a mess of the last. So I think you can mark that run up and he is clearly not out of this if returning to the two good runs I mentioned against Grade 1 horses last season.
3.00pm
Shishkin
Every time this horse runs, I think people expect to hear something different from us about him, and we disappoint them every time! We all know how good he is by now. If anyone was in any doubt about his class and ability then I would hope his Arkle win would have persuaded them otherwise. He was a dream to ride there. If he is in the same form here, and nothing suggests he is not, then the betting tells you he is a very likely winner. I won’t argue with that, but this is horse racing and nothing is a given.
3.35pm
On The Blind Side
He has been in the form of his life this season, running to a consistently high level, and probably ran as well as he has all season when third at Haydock last time. Of course, he has to up his game in Grade 1 company here but he is a course winner for whom ground and trip will be pretty much ideal and he could hit the board yet again here. There is a fair bit of depth to this race, though.
5.15pm – Grand National (We're paying six places)
No ride for me in the big one but I’d probably like to be on Bristol De Mai, if I had the pick. I know other horses have better claims on the face of it, but he is a five-time Grade 1 winner and a mark 167 is probably attractive here given that level of class. He showed he was as good as ever when winning the Betfair Chase in November and comes here fresh, which is important for him.
6.20pm
Balco Coastal
He chased home the smart Gentlesmansgame in his sole point and he was so impressive when running out a wide-margin winner on his debut for us on the all-weather at Kempton in February. The runner-up won next time, and we are looking forward to seeing what he can do, upped his grade. I think he will hold his own.
