It will feel more like winter than spring as the Grand National Festival opens with an outstanding card at Aintree on Thursday afternoon. However Andrew Tulloch, the clerk of the course, said on Wednesday it is still possible that the course will be watered before Saturday’s big race.
“The going changed [on Wednesday morning] but I’m going to walk it again and it will probably be roughly back where we were after a couple of millimetres of rain today,” Tulloch said. “It’s been overcast and drizzly and I think that’s going to carry on through tomorrow as well, and it’s not that warm.
“It could be the easy side of good on Saturday but it’s probably going to dry out over the next couple of days and we might need to put some water on it. We’ll just have to keep an eye on it [but] we’ve done it before [the night before the National] and if we need to, we’ll do it again.”
Aintree’s big meeting opens with four consecutive Grade One races, an unbroken run of top-level events that is equalled in British racing only by the four Group Ones on Champions Day at Ascot in October. It also kicks off just 23 days after the first afternoon of the Cheltenham Festival, a relatively brief gap that will prompt some punters at least to wonder whether horses that ran at Cheltenham will have recovered in time to give their best at Liverpool.
It may not be an issue in the meeting’s opening race, though, as La Bague Au Roi, the favourite, was steered very deliberately around Cheltenham to run on the flatter track at Aintree while Glen Forsa (1.45), second best in the betting, unseated Jonathan Burke at the fourth in the Arkle Trophy.
La Bague Au Roi is a dual Grade One winner already this season, including a defeat of Topofthegame, the subsequent RSA Chase winner, at Kempton on Boxing Day, and she also gets a useful 7lb mares’ allowance from her opponents. This race over two and a half miles was not her original target, however, and became the firm target only when Defi Du Seuil, the JLT winner at Cheltenham, was ruled out on Tuesday.
“They are getting a bit of rain every day and I just thought three miles on Friday might not be right for her,” Warren Greatrex, La Bague Au Roi’s trainer, said on Wednesday. “She’s just as effective over two and a half and the news Defi Du Seuil had come out helped the decision. Richard [Johnson, her jockey] and the owners agree it’s the right race to go for, so we’ll give it a shot.”
La Bague Au Roi has courage and determination to match her talent but the drop back in trip on drying ground might just leave her vulnerable to a rival with a little more speed. Some punters may be deterred by Glen Forsa’s fall last time but it was most out of character, as his jumping had previously been his greatest asset as he improved from handicaps to Grade Two success. He could well be the value bet in Thursday’s race at around 4-1.
Buveur D’Air (3.25), the Champion Hurdle winner in 2017 and 2018, also failed to complete at Cheltenham, where his attempt to complete a hat-trick was ended by the first fall of his career at the third flight.
He too is normally foot-perfect and a clear round should be good enough to repeat his 2017 win in the Aintree Hurdle, while Clan Des Obeaux (2.50), who seemingly failed to stay the trip in the Gold Cup last time, should appreciate a return to a furlong less on a sharper track in the Betway Bowl.
Aintree 1.45 Glen Forsa 2.20 Band Of Outlaws 2.50 Clan Des Obeaux (nap) 3.25 Buveur D’Air 4.05 Road To Rome 4.40 Lady Buttons (nb) 5.15 Minella Melody
Southwell 1.55 Dolly Dupree 2.30 Barossa Red 3.00 Warrior’s Valley 3.35 Marble Bar 4.15 Jazz Legend 4.50 Groundworker 5.30 Bonneville
Taunton 2.05 Micras 2.40 Barbados Blue 3.10 Eur Gone West 3.50 Capitaine 4.25 Triple Chief 5.00 Its All Or Nothing 5.35 Starsky
Chelmsford City 6.00 Diamond Oasis 6.30 Lion Hearted 7.00 Executive Force 7.30 Sharp Operator 8.00 Captain Lars 8.30 Top Rock Talula
The jockeys in the Foxhunters’ Chase will be under close scrutiny after two amateur riders were banned for continuing when beaten in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham. A shorter trip and better ground will hopefully make for a better advertisement for amateurs at Liverpool, and Road To Rome (4.05) and Sam Waley-Cohen, three times a winner of this race already, look like the safest bet at around 4-1.
