Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
Here’s a handy little gizmo for any of you wishing to monitor the state of the going at Aintree this week, having perhaps backed a horse that wants drying ground in the Grand National. The link takes you to a TurfTrax map of the course, showing the state of the going all the way around the two-mile circuit.
As you’ll see, the National course is mostly good to soft, with some good bits around the home straight. For some reason that I’ve never fathomed, the far end of the course is always softest and it is indeed soft around the Canal Turn. Does the canal leak on to the track, do you think?
The forecast I use says Aintree will get rain every day this week, totalling perhaps 17mm before racing starts on Thursday. Temperatures may not get above 10C, so it doesn’t look like a drying week and I’d expect there to be plenty of give in the racing surface by Saturday.
Today’s main action is at Warwick, where I fancy Andy Thornton’s chances of getting a bit closer to that longed-for tally of 1,000 career wins. He’s on Dawson City (3.30) in the staying handicap chase, a horse who’s been running consistently well without quite winning, notably when a loose horse unsighted him at Chepstow in December as he led over the third-last.
On another occasion, he was beaten only by Golden Chieftain and that rival would have won the Midlands National by daylight the other day, but for coming down at the last. So Dawson City looks value for his current rating and gets a winnable opportunity in a small field today. The 7-4 is fine.
I’ll take 5-1 about Ballyrock (4.00) in the following handicap hurdle. Like a few of Tim Vaughan’s runners, he recently returned to form, though he couldn’t quite make it count and went down by a neck at Chepstow last month. Richard Johnson returns to the saddle, having partnered this beast to his only victory on the only occasion they have been matched before now.
Skybet Grand National tipping competition – a new week
Congratulations to GForce1, who won last week’s competition on a final score of +11 despite a winnerless Friday, and also to Mulldog, who was second on +8. They bagged the two sets of tickets to this week’s Grand National meeting and I have been in touch with both to arrange same.
This week’s prize, kindly offered by Skybet, is arguably more exciting still! It’s a £100 bet on this week’s Grand National!
To kick things off, we’d like your selections, please, for these races: 3.00 Warwick, 3.40 Wincanton, 4.00 Warwick.
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day.
For terms and conditions click here.
Good luck!
And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
