The Aintree Hurdle is the most exciting of the four Grade 1s on the opening day of the Festival with Constitution Hill, Lossiemouth and Wodhooh running against each other.
14:20 Thursday
Much like the Cheltenham Festival, the opening day of the Grand National meeting starts with a bang with Grade 1 action right from the start.
Declarations for Day 1 have now closed, with four Grade 1s on the spin to kick off the seven-race card. Brighterdaysahead is a high-profile omission from the Aintree Hurdle, while Lulamba has not been declared for the 4yo Juvenile Hurdle.
What to Expect on Day 1 of the Aintree Festival
ITV Racing are showing the first six races each day which means all four Grade 1 races on the opening day as well as the Foxhunters’ Chase and Red Rum Handicap Chase will be shown on the channel.
For the previous two years, the gap between the Cheltenham Festival and Aintree has been four weeks but we are back to only a three-week gap this year which will make it more difficult for horses to run up to top form at both meetings. This could further enhance last year’s results where 13 of the 21 winners hadn’t run at the Cheltenham Festival.
Aintree Day 1 Racecard
- 1:45 Grade 1 Manifesto Novices’ Chase (2m4f)
- 2:20 Grade 1 Boodles Anniversary 4yo Juvenile Hurdle (2m)
- 2:55 Grade 1 Aintree Bowl Chase (3m1f)
- 3:30 Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle (2m4f)
- 4:05 Foxhunters’ Chase (2m5f)
- 4:40 Red Rum Handicap Chase (2m)
- 5:15 Grade 2 Mares’ Bumper (2m)
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Today’s Best Bets from Our Tipster
2:20 Aintree - Puturhandstogether 15/8 (1pt)
The complexion of this race changed greatly with the defection of Lulamba, Lady Vega Allen and Hello Neighbour and it now looks a perfect opportunity for PUTURHANDSTOGETHER (best priced at 15/8) to confirm the promise of his Fred Winter victory at the Cheltenham Festival.
The Joseph O’Brien trained four-year-old caught the eye on his first three hurdles start before relishing the better ground on his handicap debut off a mark of 130. The handicapper has raised him 13lbs following his impressive six length success that day which makes him top rated in this field with a rating of 143.
Live Conti is a complete unknown and could prove top class but Puturhandstogether sets a daunting standard for him to try to reach and I expect him to prove hard to beat.
14:55 Aintree
2:55 Aintree - Ahoy Senor 13/2 (1pt)
This looks a competitive yet below-par renewal of the Aintree Bowl and as a result it looks a good opportunity for AHOY SENOR (best priced at 13/2) to go one better than the previous two seasons.
The Lucinda Russell trained 10-year-old has form figures of 113223 at the track and has finished runner-up in this race for the past two seasons.
He was only beaten 1 ½ lengths by Shishkin in 2023 before finishing ½ length behind Gerri Colombe in this contest last season.
Ahoy Senor was still travelling well before falling in the Gold Cup but he did exactly the same thing prior to finishing 2nd in this race in 2023. He will relish the return to this venue and can record his first victory since January 2023.
16:05 Thursday
4:05 Aintree - Percussion 25/1 (0.5pt ew)
The Laura Morgan trained PERCUSSION (best priced at 25/1) has run over the Grand National fences five times in his career with form figures of 33237 including when twice placed in the Grand Sefton and twice in the Becher Chase.
For the previous two seasons, the 10-year-old hadn’t run over the summer and gone straight for the Grand Sefton but this year he ran twice in June at Worcester and Uttoxeter which may have led to him finishing midfield in the contest this year.
Percussion has since gone hunter chasing where he has finished 3rd at both Ludlow and Southwell over conventional fences but he should now relish the return to the Grand National fences. With a rating of 122 he is clearly up against it for win purposes but with five places widely available, it would be disappointing if he wasn’t staying on well at the finish to hit the frame at a big price.
Top Trainers & Jockeys to Follow at Aintree
Both Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott are tied on 12 winners at this meeting in the previous five seasons with Mullins having a slightly better strike rate with 76 runners instead of the 83 for Gordon Elliott.
Nicky Henderson is close behind with 11 winners from 88 runners with Paul Nicholls (nine from 87 runners) and Dan Skelton (eight from 89) also boasting a good record.
Lucinda Russell shows the best profit at SP with +£81 from a £1 stake (four winners from 17 runners) ahead of Fergal O’Brien who is +£37 from a £1 stake (3 winners from 26 runners).
Mark Walsh currently has the best record of jockeys at his meeting in the previous five seasons with nine winners from 29 rides supplied by five different trainers.
Both Jack Kennedy and Derek Fox have good records at the meeting (both unfortunately miss the meeting through injury) as do Nico De Boinville (seven from 49), Harry Skelton (seven from 64) and Harry Cobden (six from 66).
Key Races to Watch on Day 1 at Aintree
The Aintree Hurdle (3:30) is the only open Grade 1 hurdle staged in Britain over this intermediate distance and it looks the most exciting of the four Grade 1s on the opening day of the Festival with Constitution Hill, Lossiemouth and Wodhooh all running against each other.
Constitution Hill suffered his first defeat under rules when he fell at the fourth last in the Champion Hurdle. He won this race in 2023 and bids to regain his title. The decision of connections to run Lossiemouth in the Mares’ Hurdle rather than the Champion Hurdle divided opinion but she is unbeaten in her four starts over this intermediate distance and she looks the biggest threat to the favourite.
Impressive Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle winner adds further spice to the race and she does only have 8lbs to find on ratings with Lossiemouth.
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Key Aintree Stats & Trends for Day 1
It's worth checking out these key trends if you're looking for the best use of Grand National free bets across next week's racing.
Manifesto Novices’ Chase:
- All 15 winners of the race were beaten on their previous start
- 11 of the previous 15 winners had run in the Arkle or Golden Miller at the Cheltenham Festival that year
- 13 of the previous 15 winners were from the top three in the market
- 12 of the previous 13 winners had run four or five times over fences previously
- Nine of the previous 10 winners had won exactly twice over fences
- Eight of the previous 11 winners were aged six
- Seven of the previous 12 winners had already won a Grade 1 or Grade 2
Boodles Anniversary Juvenile Hurdle:
- 17 of the previous 19 winners had won at least twice over hurdles
- 15 of the previous 19 winners had won a Graded race earlier in the season
- 13 of the previous 19 winners had run four times or more over hurdles
- 11 of the previous 16 winners started their racing career in France
- 11 of the previous 19 favourites have won
- Three of the previous six winners were trained by Nicky Henderson
- The previous eight Triumph Hurdle winners to run had all finished 1st or 2nd (five won)
Aintree Bowl Chase:
- All of the previous 13 winners were beaten on their most recent start
- 26 of the previous 40 winners had run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup that season
- 11 of the previous 14 winners had an SP of 7/2 or shorter
- Nine of the previous 12 winners were aged eight or nine
- Eight of the previous 13 winners had run in the King George VI Chase
- Seven of the previous nine favourites had won
- Five of the previous 12 winners had worn headgear
Aintree Hurdle:
- All of the previous 12 winners had already won a Grade 1
- 32 of the previous 47 winners had run in the Champion Hurdle
- 26 of the previous 30 winners were aged between six and eight
- 15 of the previous 30 winners were trained in Ireland
- Six of the previous 13 winners were trained by Nicky Henderson
- Mares are 2-5 in the previous 15 renewals
What’s Coming Up on Day 2 at the Aintree Festival
The highlight of the second day of the Aintree Festival is the Melling Chase where Jonbon aims to record back-to-back victories in the race.
