The Betway ambassador previews his three rides on Day 1 of the Aintree Festival, headlined by El Fabiolo in the day’s feature race, the Aintree Hurdle.
We head to Aintree after a real up and down weekend at Fairyhouse. The real positive of the weekend was undoubtedly He’s On Fire’s performance in the novice race, and he blew me away, really. We hadn’t done much with him at home, and he was still very raw, but the way he went through the race really impressed me, and I’d say the future is very bright for him. He’s a big, tall, narrow horse at the moment, but he’s absolutely made for chasing, and when he fills into his frame, he’ll be an absolute tank.
We go to Aintree with a smaller team than in recent years, but it could be quality over quantity this year, so hopefully we can still have plenty of success over there.
We kick off with a cracking renewal of the Anniversary Juvenile (13:45), with the second, third, and fourth from the Triumph clashing once again. Throw into the mix Winston Junior, who was a good second in the Fred Winter, and Mange Tout, who we didn’t see at Cheltenham, but has some high-class form to his name, and we have a proper horse race.
Selma De Vary 11/4 was behind Maestro Conti and Minella Study at Cheltenham, so she does have a couple of lengths to find with them, but I didn’t get a clear passage coming down to the last, so I believe we have a chance of reversing that form. She’s not a straightforward ride either, to be truthful, but I think I’m just starting to work her out, and she does have a lot of ability, so I’d say she goes there with a big chance.
Mange Tout is probably the forgotten horse, because we didn’t see her at Cheltenham, but some of her form from earlier in the season reads very well, and coming here a fresh horse will certainly help her chance, you’d think.
We don’t have a runner in the Manifesto (14:20), as I think Salvator Mundi heads for the Maghull Novices’ on Saturday, but I can’t really see past Lulamba here. I thought he’d be flat to the boards in the Arkle, but I was actually impressed at how he went through the race, and he just made that mistake at the wrong time against genuine two-milers that were starting to quicken, and he was just under a bit of pressure to keep up. The extra distance here will help him, and there’s no Kargese or Kopek in here, so it’s Lulamba all day long for me in this race.
I’m hoping Impaire Et Passe 100/30 can bounce back in the Bowl (14:55) from a very disappointing effort in the Ryanair at Cheltenham last time. I was never happy on him at any stage in the Ryanair, and I suppose by pulling him up, at least you could say he didn’t have as hard a race as he could have. He loves Aintree too, which is always a big factor at this meeting, and it wouldn’t be the first time Willie has got one back soon after a disappointing run, so I wouldn’t be in a rush to write him off.
Jango Baie is the obvious one on form this year, but I’ve found out on more than one occasion how difficult it is to come out of a Gold Cup and do it again soon after, so that would be my concern for him. Spillane’s Tower is probably the interesting one, because he arrives fresh, and if they water the ground enough for him, then he could be a big player in this race.
The Aintree Hurdle (16:05) is another great race on a fantastic day of action, and although El Fabiolo 5/1 isn’t getting any better the older he gets, he does still retain plenty of ability. He’s enjoying it back over hurdles, and the win last time at Leopardstown was a good performance, so if he reproduces that effort, he could get involved at the finish.
I think The New Lion will be much more comfortable over this trip, so he’s a big player, and Brighterdaysahead was impressive over this course and distance earlier in her career, so they are the rightful favourites.
I just can’t believe Golden Ace is being discounted in the market the way she is. She wouldn’t be a million miles behind these on form, and looking at her, I think she’ll be very comfortable over this longer trip, and she might even need it these days. She might find one or two too good for her, but I was surprised to see what a big price she was.
