Day one of the Aintree Grand National 2022 meeting was certainly eventful with plenty of talking points.
The action started with the Manifesto Novices’ Chase at 1:45, won by the talented Millers Bank.
Pied Piper finished first in a dead-heat with Knight Salute in the second race, before placings were revised following a stewards enquiry.
Knight Salute was declared the outright winner to provide Milton Harris with his first Grade One success.
Clan Des Obeaux won the Betway Bowl by a length ahead of the chasing Conflated who finished strongly but was unable to catch the winner, resulting in another disappointing finish for Davy Russell but happiness for winning jockey Harry Cobden and trainer Paul Nicholls.
Then came the Aintree Hurdle in which runaway winner Epatante recorded her seventh Grade One win in fine fashion.
Latenightpass provided amateur jockey Gina Andrews with an emotional success in the Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase, before The Last Day put in an impressive performance to win the Grade Three Red Rum Handicap Chase.
Evan Williams’ The Last Day has overcome plenty of problems in the past, and took a heavy fall at the last on his first appearance in almost a year most recently.
This was a well-deserved win for the ten-year-old who will hopefully have put his troubles behind him.
Ashroe Diamond has been well-backed ahead of the last race on the card, and was an impressive winner for Willie Mullins.
Tomorrow’s action promises to build up nicely towards Saturday’s card, and there are plenty of tricky handicaps to try and work out as well as Graded action which features some classy performers.
1:45 – Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)
The selection: Cobblers Dream 8/1 (win) & Some Day Soon 66/1 (EW)
Langer Dan was well-fancied for the Martin Pipe Handicap at Cheltenham before being brought down at the second.
He had plenty of backers there who will likely be supporting him once again, but is short enough at the top of the market and there are plenty capable of giving him a run for his money here.
Cobblers Dream is up 4lbs for his second-placed finish in the aforementioned Cheltenham race, but jockey Jack Andrews claims 5lbs which is sure to help.
He recorded back-to-back wins prior to his last run, and could have a great chance if fresh enough following his recent run.
On form he is clearly in with a chance and is likely to feature at the finish.
At a bigger price, Some Day Soon could be one to keep an eye on.
He was last seen finishing third here in October, giving plenty of weight to the first two finishers.
His hurdles form isn’t the most impressive but he has performed well at times, finishing ahead of a number of useful types during his career, often giving weight away.
Some Day Soon is officially rated at 137, on the same mark as the favourite, and although he’ll need to show improvement, he could perform well enough to run into a place at a huge price.
2:20 – Top Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
The selection: Aucunrisque 14/1 (EW)
It’s difficult to evaluate Jonbon’s form as he hasn’t really been tested prior to appearing in the Supreme.
There, he met a potential superstar in Constitution Hill, who put in an extraordinary performance.
But Jonbon was the best of the rest and did finish ahead of Kilcruit, a horse with plenty of ability himself.
The favourite could be a class apart from the rest of the field, or he could find it difficult following a tough enough race at Cheltenham.
With this in mind, a potential bet in the race could be from an each-way angle and the progressive Aucunrisque gets the nod at the prices.
He is unexposed against opposition as highly-rated as those he faces here.
When last seen he won a Grade Two at Kempton, beating some nice, young horses, and recording a hat-trick of wins in doing so.
He’ll clearly need to perform even better to feature here, and on ratings he has plenty to find with a few of the others, but he’s worth an each-way shout and the trainer is in-form having been performing at a 56% strike rate in the past two weeks.
2:55 – Mildmay Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)
The selection: No bet
This four runner field is very much a case of quality over quantity, and perhaps rather than having a bet, it will be more enjoyable to sit back and watch the action unfold.
With plenty to like about the top two in the market, it does appear difficult to split them on the predicted Good To Soft ground they’re likely to get on Friday.
On a sounder surface, perhaps Bravemansgame would slightly edge it, and likewise L’Homme Presse in softer conditions.
It certainly appears to be a two-horse race, with Ahoy Senor’s jumping not quite up to scratch against such high-quality opponents.
However, Ahoy Senor is a classy horse in his own right, and if able to iron out a few problems he may well be challenging for Grade One prizes next season.
Fury Road is a respected contender, and is rated 3lbs higher than Ahoy Senor, but may not be suited to this and the trainer’s form is becoming a growing concern.
3:30 – Marsh Chase (Melling Chase) (Grade 1)
The selection: Fakir D’oudairies 5/4 (win) & Paint The Dream 25/1 (EW – 3 places, 20/1 4 places)
The favourite, Fakir D’oudairies, seems a solid selection at the head of the market, and this appears to be another Grade One race that is well within his reach.
A couple of runners step up in trip, whilst others have plenty of question marks surrounding them and have become unreliable.
From an each-way angle once again there may be some value in Paint The Dream who is available at a decent enough price.
He does have a bit to find on ratings with many of his opponents, but there could be further room for improvement, and he was impressive last time out when winning a Grade Three handicap at Newbury.
This is much tougher, but excluding the favourite, the field is wide open from an each-way perspective and Paint The Dream could fare better than a few shorter-priced options.
4:05 – Topham Handicap Chase (Grade 3)
The selection: Foxy Jacks 25/1 (EW) & Romain De Senam 66/1 (EW)
There are plenty of chances in this open handicap, but course and distance winner Mac Tottie is seemingly being well-backed and may be tough to beat carrying 10st.
Royal Rendezvous has a difficult task off top weight but has plenty of class to see him put in a good performance.
Spiritofthegames is another worth mentioning as a potential each-way player, with plenty of places on offer with many bookmakers.
He has finished third the last twice over similar trips and could find himself there or thereabouts once again running at his current mark, but may find one or two too good.
However, there could be plenty of value in bigger-priced runners and Foxy Jacks catches the eye.
He ran at the Cheltenham Festival, finishing fourteenth in the Ultima, but prior to that he finished second in a competitive handicap at Leopardstown over a similar distance.
At Punchestown last May he beat twenty-three rivals, including Royal Rendezvous and Annamix, to win a Grade A contest.
He is up 16lbs from that win, rated at 144, but if able to replicate that performance off his current rating he must be in with a shout.
Romain De Senam is interesting on his second appearance for David Pipe.
He is third reserve for the Grand National on Saturday, but if he does run in the Topham he could be in with an each-way chance at a huge price.
Currently available at 66/1, he is a massive outsider, but is rated higher than a few others and benefits from jockey Philip Armson claiming 7lbs.
He has decent form in Graded handicaps and if able to perform to a similar level he is surely overpriced given he also returns to a shorter trip.
4:40 – Sefton Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
The selection: Banbridge 11/4 (win)
It’s difficult to look past Joseph O’Brien’s recent Cheltenham Festival winner here who is the highest-rated in the field at 143, up 6lbs from his recent win.
He steps up in trip here, which shouldn’t be a problem as he kept on well at Cheltenham and looked to be extending his lead at the finish.
The extra half-a-mile here may show even more improvement from the six-year-old, and none of his rivals appear to have form as good as he showed on his last run.
There may be a couple of unexposed horses lining up, and Sam Thomas’ Skytastic has looked a prospect this season.
He could be an interesting contender but may not be quite good enough to trouble the favourite Banbridge who should be claiming his first Grade One win in this race.
5:15 – Handicap Hurdle for Conditional Jockeys’ and Amateur Riders – Class 2
The selection: Just The Man 20/1 (EW)
Without a particularly strong fancy in the race, Just The Man could be one capable of a placed finish following on from a recent win at Ludlow.
He is rated only 3lbs lower than the current market leader, Whizz Kid, and may be able to carry his good form into this race.
By Katie Midwinter (07/04/22)
THE CONDITIONAL 