Friday Horse Racing Tips from Steve Ryder at Aintree

Holywell won the Ultima Handicap Chase as a novice prior to winning this race in 2014 and CHIANTI CLASSICO (best priced at 9/2) bids to do the same 10 years later. The Kim Bailey trained seven-year-old has improved 21lbs since going chasing this season having been pulled up in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle last season. He won his first two chase starts at Chepstow and Ascot before finishing 2nd behind the course specialist Flegmatik at Kempton in January. 

Chianti Classico had shown his best form on faster ground previously but he handled the heavy ground well at the Cheltenham Festival when he won by 4 ½ lengths under David Bass. With a rating of 154 he only has 4lbs to find with Inothewayurthinkin who I would worry about his jumping in this race. Broadway Boy will ensure this is a good test of stamina and I expect Chianti Classico to follow up his recent success.

Jonbon is respected up in trip but his jumping will need to improve a lot from last time and preference instead goes to last year’s winner PIC D’ORHY (best priced at 4/1). The Paul Nicholls stable had a great day yesterday with four winners and six places from thirteen runners and this has been the nine-year-olds target since winning the Ascot Chase in February. He is extremely consistent with form figures of 1121121 in open company and that includes a 4 ¼ length victory in this race last term.

Pic D’Orhy beat both L’Homme Presse (4th in the Gold Cup) and Ahoy Senor (2nd in the Bowl yesterday) easily over this intermediate trip at Ascot last time and a repeat of that effort should mean he proves hard to beat in this race with the Ryanair 1-2-3 Protektorat, Envoi Allen and Conflated all having hard races last time. The majority of bookmakers are still offering three places despite there only being seven runners so would recommend taking advantage of that. 

This looks a competitive 0-55 handicap but preference goes to FURTHER MEASURE (best priced at 3/1) who runs here from 2lbs “well in” at the weights. The Mike Murphy & Michael Keady trained seven-year-old is unexposed over this 1m6f trip since winning over this trip at Wolverhampton last year off a mark of 67 when trained by Sylvester Kirk. The gelding has been dropping down the handicap following below par runs over trips of 7f and a mile but bounced back to form to finish 2nd by ½ length back over this trip last time at Wolverhampton off a mark of 55.

7lb claimer Chloe Lyons has ridden Further Measure on his previous six starts but Harry Davies now takes over on board and he should prove hard to beat off the same mark from 2lbs “well in” at the weights.