Sunday’s Racing Tips – The sky is the limit for Skyjack Hijack at Aintree

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Cairnzy managed to land a nice 6/1 winner on Saturday. The horse looked in trouble a couple of furlongs from home, but he stuck to his task and managed to win nicely.

Bob Bob Ricard might have been able to get a place at Cheltenham in the opener if it wasn't for being hampered by a faller, but after that is was game over. Broadway Boy put in a brave performance off a big weight from the front but couldn't go with the two Irish raiders, who once again proved why Irish racing is so far ahead of the UK.

Cairnzy's Tips

Ahoy Senor 9/2 – Aintree 1.50

This is a cracking little race, with five top-rated horses coming here with solid claims.

Despite Stage Star's potential to perform well if in top form, there are concerning factors to consider. The Nicholls yard has been struggling with form at present, and Stage Star is returning from a break after undergoing wind surgery. Given these factors, I believe it's better to watch the Nicholls runner than lay at a short price of 11/8.

The horse who I thought was overpriced was Ahoy Senor for trainer Lucinda Russell and jockey Derek Fox. My selection has been weak in the market since opening up around 7/2 but I'm willing to look past the drift as you can make solid claims for each of the five that contest in this race.

I'm a massive fan of this horse and despite having his quirks, he's a top class operator on his day. Ahoy Senor also comes with risks, having not performed well when returning from a break and tends to need a run or two before kicking into top gear. With that said, you can say the same about others in this contest, and being so early into this jump season, I'm willing to draw a blind eye to that concern. What isn't concerning  is his course form at Aintree, producing form figures of 11322.

My selection has tended to be campaigned over further during his career but has ran over this sort of distance before, so the drop back in trip rises no issues. The current ground conditions at Aintree is currently running good and with Ahoy Senior being a versatile horse when it comes to ground conditions, this too will be no problem for my selection.

Ahoy Senior was last seen at this very same course back in April, which saw him go down by half a length to Gordon Elliots Gerri Colombe. While my selection fought out the finish with Gerri Colombe, I think it's worth mentioning he had some other top class operators in behind, Bravemansgame, Corbetts Cross and of course a favourite of mine in the late Shiskin. Of course, this contest and the Grade One Bowl in which he contested that day are chalk and cheese in terms of quality, but that's the sort of level my selection can run to when on a going day.

Rizzel's Tips

Skyjack Hijack 3/1 – Aintree 12:40

I do try and avoid having bets in conditional jockey races, especially over the jumps as the jockey definitely plays a bigger role in this sphere than the flat as the horses have obstacles to jump. However, I do think it is worth taking that chance in this race on Skyjack Hijack who has improved massively in the last month or so.

This horse arrives looking for the hattrick of wins after winning two on the bounce, with his most recent performance being a big career best by some distance. He was well fancied the time before when he managed to get his head in front for the first time, but only managed to win by a neck. Last time out he was equally as fancied, but he won with plenty of authority, with the winning margin being 12L to Western Glen who is a decent horse who runs consistently well in and around that level, and ran with credit in his last race the other week.

Skyjack Hijack has been pushed up 10lbs in the handicap for that easy win at Perth, but he is still very unexposed as a stayer in handicaps and I hope he isn't too high in the handicap just yet.

Torn And Frayed 3/1 – Aintree 2.25

This was tough for me to pick between the in-form horse of Copperhead and the veteran's debutante Torn And Frayed, and I've ended up going with the latter.

It could be one of the last rolls of the dice to run Torn And Frayed over today's trip of 3m 1f as he is now a 10-year-old and has only run over 3m once in his lifetime, or it could be that he has needed a trip like this for a long time. I think that he is worth a go over this far against today's opposition who are all aged ten or older. He isn't as good as he used to be, some of that is down to his age, but also some of that is down to his inactivity in recent years, which I'd presume is from an injury. But, due to the comments I've just stated, his handicap mark has taken a tumble and he is now running off a very attractive handicap mark of 126, which has a further 3lbs taken off from Finn Lambert, so his mark for today will be 123.

Last year he ran in some very tough handicaps, all being graded races, so it's fair to say he didn't have the easiest of assignments coming back from his 658-day layoff. He didn't run badly in the majority of his races, and I think his last run at Cheltenham in April over 2m 4f was proof that he still had the fire in his belly. Last time out he did run on in the final stages, and that's something he has done quite a bit over the shorter trips which makes you think that the longer distance should play to his strengths, as I don't think he has the pace to run over the intermediate trip of 2m 4f.

Today's opposition isn't great, and many will also have to prove they are ready to fire first time out. The horses towards the top of the weights are on good marks, but whether they have the right conditions and will be primed for this race, I'm not sold. Cap Du Nord is a total enigma, he wins when he wants, or when his connections want him to and though he won this summer, his handicap mark is creeping back up again. Copperhead is a danger but is priced up accordingly. He has won two on the bounce and he is still ridiculously well handicapped on his novice chase form from years ago, but that's not a fair analysis as he is never going to get close to that rating ever again. However, he is in a winning mood and did beat some decent horses in the veteran's chase at Chepstow last time out, but he does tend to jump slightly out to his right, and I think Torn And Frayed, if he stays the trip, is a huge danger to him.

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