Day 2 Tips Jake Price's Best Bets for Friday at Aintree

13:45 Aintree

This doesn’t look the strongest Intermediate Handicap Hurdle ever run with a Premier tag, and I’m quite confident in taking two against the field with the extra places on offer. The first of those is Nicky Henderson’s JOYEUSE¸ who now returns to 2m4f for the first time since running in the Grade 1 Mares Hurdle last season.

During her short career to date she has twice ran over this distance, with that sixth-place effort in the Grade 1 at the Festival joined by an extremely good effort to split Wodhooh (154) and Take No Chances (145) in a Mares’ Handicap Hurdle also at Cheltenham in the December beforehand. That effort reads extremely well now considering what those two Mares have done since, and JOYEUSE herself won a big race in landing the Premier William Hill Handicap Hurdle by 8 lengths at Newbury just over a year ago.

She hasn’t exactly been in the doldrums since but she certainly hasn’t been able to put her best foot forward, largely due to the fact that she went over fences and didn’t get on with them – but upon returning to Hurdles she has slowly but surely been built back up towards her best. The strongest evidence to suggest that was her third-place effort in the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last month, as in first-time cheekpieces she ran a gallant third behind Wilful.

Considering the way she stayed on towards the finish that day I think she will very much appreciate returning to what is a relatively easy 2m4f at Aintree, and clearly on the evidence of her efforts over two-miles she possesses plenty of pace. Off a mark of 137, she ought to be extremely competitive.

The other Horse I want on side though is TRUSTINTIMES, who is an extremely interesting horse now stepping up in trip to 2m4f. This 5yo has been a bit of a prolific winner, landing a Bumper at Kempton before a Maiden/Novice Hurdle double at Uttoxeter. On Handicap debut at Ascot in November, he was a very game winner over Fortune De Mer (134) when still racing over 2m, and he now has not been seen since Boxing Day where he was second behind Williethebuilder (134) during his pomp. If he appreciates the increase in distance then he surely still has loads in hand off a mark of 127.

JOYEUSE 1pt EW (5 Places) @ 7/1
TRUSTINTIMES 0.5pts EW (5 Places) @ 14/1

14:20 Aintree

This looks an extremely average renewal of the Mildmay Novices’ Chase to my eye, and it is ripe for a bit of an upset. On all known form I would say that Salver has the best chance of winning this on paper, but I don’t think he will appreciate the quicker ground at Aintree, and he certainly had a very tough race in the Brown Advisory when staying on from the clouds for third place.

Instead a horse who has been kept fresh with interlinking form is DOYEN QUEST, and he could be extremely dangerous if he is allowed to dominate on the front end. A perfect example of when he managed to do this was at Exeter in November where he jumped impeccably and took Quebecois (144) miles out of his comfort zone when thrashing that rival by 10 lengths, and you would imagine that those sorts of tactics will be employed once again. His last two starts have seen him finish runner-up to Salver on both occasions, but considering our selection comes into this off the back of an 82 day break, it would not be hard to see him hitting the frame at the very least.

DOYEN QUEST 0.5pts EW @ 14/1

16:05 Aintree

I have already put up WILL THE WISE in my Ante-Post column for the Topham Handicap Chase which you can read here, and following declarations with Conor Stone-Walsh booked to take off 3lbs I am even more confident at this stage. I am happy with the 14/1 position so I don’t think there is any need to go in again, but if you are not already on Ante-Post, I would still recommend a 1pt EW bet at the current prices.

WILL THE WISE 1pt EW @ 14/1 [Ante-Post]

16:40 Aintree

If you go back and watch how ZEUS POWER got on in the Grade 1 Turners Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, then you will note that he clearly should be suited by this step up in trip to 3m on Friday, and as such I think he is a cracking bet. He stayed on from miles back that day to rattle home for third place behind King Rasko Grey and Act Of Innocence, and to be honest I think that piece of form is going to work out stronger than the Albert Bartlett which to me was muddling at best.

This horse has already been spoken about as a potential Stayers Hurdle candidate for next season, and therefore in a race which looks full of future Staying Chasers, he is the clear bet for me. Joseph O'Brien and JJ Slevin team up once again, and the quicker ground is another positive on his side. There is every chance No Drama This End does not run if the ground is too quick, and as such Harry Cobden is already booked to ride the longer priced Talk To The Man instead.

ZEUS POWER 1pt Win @ 5/1