Jake Price picks out five selections at Aintree on Grand Sefton Day on Saturday.
12:55 AINTREE – PERTEMPS HANDICAP HURDLE (CLASS 2) – 3M½F
Pertemps Qualifier always provide contests where the participants have mixed motivations, and the likes of an Impose Toi and Chasing Fire will surely want to finish in the top 4 to qualify for March, rather than go up any further in the handicap. Crebilly and Kotate Dori will surely have future targets in mind – the latter being the Coral Gold Cup – and Kyntara returns to Hurdles following a failed Chase campaign.
That leads me onto THE LORD MAID, who I feel is one of the few who want to win this. Her owners the Value Racing Club surely have their sights set on this £15,609 first prize, and after losing plenty of time with her last season due to Tom Lacey’s yard being a little under a cloud, this is surely an ideal opportunity to kick on following her Ayr success.
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That latest performance saw her land the Class 2 Mares Handicap Hurdle run on Scottish National day, and she put in a really nice performance off the front end that day to beat Lavida Adiva (130) by 2 lengths. That was only her second start over three miles too, with her prior effort a 2nd place at Chepstow where she tried to come from off the pace and was only narrowly denied by Getaway Theatre.
Her mark of 132 is certainly not a gift, but the fact she should be putting it all in for the win should count for plenty. Tom Lacey has started the new season in much better form too, with 19 winners from 67 runners (28% strike rate).
13:30 AINTREE – NOVICES’ LIMITED HANDICAP CHASE (CLASS 3) – 3M1F
Quite simply, HIDDEN HISTORY could not have any stronger form since joining Dan Skelton, and considering he was purchased to be a Chaser, you would hope that there is even more improvement to come now going over the larger obstacles.
Previously with Chris Gordon where he suffered with a few issues, on first start for Dan Skelton he won a 2m4f Handicap Hurdle at Uttoxeter – beating none other than Wellington Arch (133) by 3.25 lengths. That rival has since boosted the form dramatically, as he has earned a 13lbs higher rating by winning the 2m4f Premier Handicap Hurdle at the Aintree Festival, before then following up with a good 3rd at the Punchestown Festival to boot.
Connections expected our selection to follow up at Perth on his final start of the season off a 7lbs higher mark, but that tight track didn’t really suit, and in the end he was chinned by Rambo T (143) who has since gone on to win the Silver Trophy, whilst back in 3rd was Chasing Fire (136) who has also won since and is a fairly short price for the preceding Pertemps Qualifier.
As I mentioned, this Horse was purchased to be a chaser after winning an Irish point-to-point at Bandon, but the fact that he is still only rated 125 blows my mind considering the form that I have outlined above. Stepping back up in trip to 3m1f for the first time since being beaten on his final start for Chris Gordon should also help find improvement.
14:05 AINTREE – HANDICAP CHASE (CLASS 3) – 2M
This is an interesting Handicap Chase with a few debutants, but they will be doing well to beat second season Chaser JAVERT ALLEN, who is an exceptional jumper of a fence.
This 6yo made his fencing debut at Chepstow this time last year, and he really did jump them all silly off the front end despite lugging 12st around. Going to Newbury in December however he then backed up off a 5lbs higher mark, when this time tackling open company against seasoned pros. It was another lovely jumping performance off the front end that day to beat Harper’s Brook (136) by 2.25 lengths, and Bourbali (126) was also back in third.
Jane Williams gave him a bit of a break after that as he probably doesn’t want deep ground in the depths of winter – but on his return at the end of February he ran another good race back at Chepstow. Unfortunately he and Sans Bruit really cut each other’s throats on the front end that day, and despite seeing off that rival with ease, he just got worn down very late on by a resurgent Dr T J Ecklburg (128) who had his ideal pace collapse set-up.
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He finished his season at Newbury in March when uncharacteristically making a race-ending mistake at the 5th last flight, but considering it came at the end of a long, productive season I am happy to put a line through it. The Handicapper very generously dropped him 2lbs for the performance however, and he’s now on a very workable mark of 127 following his Summer break. He seems to go well fresh, so hopefully he can continue his progression into the better 2m Handicap Chases this season.
14:40 AINTREE – GRAND SEFTON HANDICAP CHASE (CLASS 2) – 2M5F
There was a monumental gamble on EXCELLO for the Topham Handicap Chase on his first attempt over the Grand National fences in April, with his early odds of 33/1 tumbling into opening up at just 7/1 on course. He seemed to love the test that the National fences presented when jumping and travelling well, but after hitting the second last that was the end of his race.
This 6yo has certainly been tricky to place since being recruited from France, and Nicky Henderson paid for him bolting up in a 2m5f Graduation Chase at Ascot on only his second start for the stable – as his mark was harshly raised to 146. Last season they decided to exploit his Novice status over hurdles instead and he went close on a few occasions behind the likes of Western Knight and Ma Shantou, but going back over fences in March he was only denied by the Sandown hill in a good 3m Handicap Chase.
The reason why I think the Grand National fences could be his niche however is the fact that he loved Auteuil – with his form at the French track reading 22212. That victory came in a 4yo Chase, and if you’ve ever seen a steeplechase race around Auteuil then you will know that is does pretty closely resemble this unique Aintree test – especially the bullfinch fence.
Whilst this is a very decent renewal of the Grand Sefton it is clearly still a lot weaker than the Topham for which he had to run 2lbs out of the handicap against five Willie Mullins horses, and furthermore there being 17 runners rather than 30 will surely suit him much better. The first-time cheekpieces which he wore that day are retained here, and if he puts in a clear round then I can see him going extremely close.
15:15 AINTREE – HANDICAP HURDLE (CLASS 4) – 2M1F
Whilst this is probably a stronger Handicap Hurdle than the one which he was a late non-runner for last weekend, all the same reasoning applies to the unexposed DON’T MIND IF I DO, who hopefully will finally encounter ground which is just right.
Alan King very much gave him a light campaign as a Novice Hurdler, as after finishing a very close 2nd behind Castle Ivers on debut at Warwick, he then went and won by 15 lengths at Wincanton despite running quite green. He was last seen at Wincanton in January when not handling heavy ground in 3rd place, but despite being ready, connections didn’t get a fourth run into him in the Spring.
As such he turns up here on a lowly mark of 120, and that certainly doesn’t look beyond him considering his Bumper form which saw him finish 2nd behind Regent’s Stroll (143) at Newbury. Conditions should be ideal on this occasion, and you would hope he has matured following his Summer break. Alan King is an impressive 5/8 (63%) with his recent Jumps runners, so fitness should not be an issue.
