Jake Price's Friday Betting Tips For Racing Action at Aintree

TIP 1: STRIDE ON - 1pt Win

Best odds of 7/2 at Skybet at the time of posting.

This is a very intriguing Novices' Handicap Chase, but a Horse who is bound to improve and win races in this division is STRIDE ON, who got his act together towards the end of last season. Like with most Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore Horses he has always been seen as a future Chaser however, and this should be the season where he shows plenty of improvement.

This 6yo ran too keen in his first two Maiden Hurdle appearances which included a decent second behind Upon Tweed, but having settled a little better at Ayr in February he absolutely bolted up by 17 lengths back to Irish Champ (115) and The G Wizard (118). He then rounded off his campaign with a good second behind the very talented Apache Tribe over 2m5½f at the Ayr Scottish National meeting, and once again that form has been boosted with the third West Hill Verde (136) coming out and winning the Grade 2 Persian War Novices' Hurdle at Chepstow last month.

A mark of 127 looks very workable for his Chase debut, and the step-up in trip to 3m1f will hopefully be something that he takes into his stride - as he is a full-brother to Kiltealy Park, who is a Listed Chase winner over 2m5f and clearly stays three-miles for the Paul Nolan team. The worry would be whether he races too keenly, but you would imagine that Derek Fox will be under some fairly strict instructions to get him settled, and hopefully the larger obstacles will help in that regard.

TIP 2: ALL IN YOU - 1pt Win

Best odds of 15/8 at William Hill while publishing.

4/1 [Ante-Post]

I made the case for ALL IN YOU in my Ante-Post column which you can read here, but I am delighted with the position we have secured as he has been well backed even after declarations were made. The Dan Skelton trained Lyssenko has understandably been on the drift out from a very short price as everyone seemingly wants to take him on, so hopefully that market move is justified.

The only other danger in my eyes would be Manuelito, who I wanted to back at Wetherby last weekend, but he was not declared for the race due to the quick ground. With some bookmakers offering three places despite it being a 7 runner race, he wouldn’t be the worst bet at a big price - but perhaps he will come on for this effort following a long absence.

TIP 3: MIRABAD - 2pts Win

Best odds available of 15/8 at William Hill at the time of posting.

The Haldon Gold Cup moving from Exeter to Aintree must have been music to Dan Skelton’s ears, as his pre-season plan of running MIRABAD in this race now coincides with the track where he won his Grade 1 Novice Chase in April. That fact in combination with a brilliant preparation means he will surely take a lot of beating on Friday.

This 7yo ended up being a very good winner of the Maghull, defying odds of 50/1 when beating Salvator Mundi (156) by six lengths. Over the Summer he has since undergone wind surgery, and as mentioned previously the idea has always been for him to be targeted at the Haldon Gold Cup off his mark of 155.

In order to get him spot on for this contest connections ran him in the Listed Panoramic Hurdle at Carlisle last month, and he ran an absolute belter that day to only be beaten three-quarters of a length by Wilful (153). Considering it was only a prep-run he came there looming at the last, and he really made the Jonjo Horse work hard all the way to the line. With that in mind he clearly is in very good form, and a return to Aintree should be the perfect next step for him.

Chief in opposition is JPR One, but he went up a further 3lbs for winning a much weaker handicap than this at the Cheltenham October meeting. He was forced to work hard for that victory too, and I just don't feel he is well handicapped off a mark of 161 - meaning he has to give 6lbs to our selection. A further negative is that Brendan Powell got injured during the week, and he has ridden the Joe Tizzard Horse on 24/25 of his career starts, so Jonjo O’Neill Jr will have some big boots to fill. Rubaud is another in opposition, and I simply don't think he's as good a Chaser as he is a Hurdler.