A strong renewal of the Grade One Betway Bowl is the feature event on the opening afternoon of the Grand National Festival, as two former winners – Clan Des Obeaux and Kemboy – take on the up-and-coming Protektorat, third home in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and Conflated, the surprise winner of the Irish Gold Cup in February.
Eldorado Allen, third in the Ryanair at Cheltenham, is also a serious player as Colin Tizzard looks to add to Cue Card’s win in this race six years ago.
The effort required to reach the frame in a Cheltenham Grade One can often take a toll at Aintree, however, with only two of 13 runners who were placed at the Festival managing to follow up in this race since 2010.
That narrows the focus towards Clan Des Obeaux (2.55) and Kemboy, both unraced since February, and Paul Nicholls’s 10-year-old, blinkered for the first time, is a fair bet at around 4-1 to extend his excellent Aintree record.
The race fell apart a little last year, when several opponents underperformed and he ran out a 26-length winner. This is still very much his track and time of year, however, and a fifth career win at the highest level is within reach.
Aintree 2.20 Brazil and Pied Piper head the market for Aintree’s Grade One juvenile hurdle having both run big races at the Festival, where Brazil edged out hot favourite Gaelic Warrior in the Fred Winter and Pied Piper was a close third in the Triumph. Both had tough races there, however, while Jonjo O’Neill’s Petit Tonnerre has not seen a track since his successful British debut at Market Rasen in February. The bare form there is a mile away from what will be required on Thursday, but he posted a strong time in the circumstances while also leaving plenty of room for improvement.
Aintree 3.30 Zanahiyr was a length behind Epatante in the Champion Hurdle last month and the extra half-mile seems more likely to suit Gordon Elliott’s five-year-old as both horses step up to two-and-a-half miles for the first time here. Brewin’upastorm, a winner over track and trip in November, could prove to be a more troublesome opponent, but Zanahiyr is still on the upgrade and may have a touch more class than Olly Murphy’s consistent nine-year-old.
Ffos Las 1.00 Light Em Up Nigel 1.35 Howdilyoudo 2.10 Marettimo 2.45 Beau Haze 3.20 Volcano 3.50 Mumbo Jumbo 4.25 Caswell Bay
Taunton 1.27 Kolisi 2.02 Good Impression 2.35 Go Sacre Go 3.10 Diligent 3.45 Earth Lord 4.20 Full Of Surprises 4.52 Theatre Mix 5.25 Holetown Hero
Aintree 1.45 Erne River (nb) 2.20 Petit Tonnerre 2.55 Clan Des Obeaux 3.30 Zanahiyr 4.05 Latenightpass 4.40 Gunsight Ridge (nap) 5.15 Rosy Redrum
Chelmsford City 4.00 Sammy Sunshine 4.35 Finery 5.08 Alia Choice 5.43 Summertime Romance 6.15 Foreshadow 6.45 Mashaan 7.15 Atrafan
Aintree 4.05 Latenightpass put up a brave performance to finish second in this race last year having already made the frame in Cheltenham’s hunter chase, and looked ideally suited by the drop back in trip at Liverpool. He made short work of his field in a point-to-point last time out and can give Gina Andrews a first success in the “amateur’s Grand National”.
Aintree 4.40 A long list of potential winners in the most competitive race of the day, but again it could pay to back a fresh horse. Gunsight Ridge gets weight from most of the field and has an obvious chance if he is close to his form when successful at Sandown in January.
