Day 1 of the Aintree Grand National Festival was a profitable one if you were on the Willie Mullins horses as he managed to land a four-timer, unfortunately, I was not!
Ahoy Senor never looked happy in his race. He jumped well for most of the race, but Patrick Wadge had to keep nursing him along and took him wide to get a clear cut at his fences. He looked to be in with a shout before turning for home, but his efforts dwindled very quickly.
Milan Forth also looked to be in with a real shout in the Foxhunters', but a couple of sloppy jumps towards the back end of the race saw his stamina sapped, and he went backwards quickly.
My Mate Mozzie didn't get involved in his race.
Rizzel's tips
Lounge Lizard 20/1 EW (6pl) – Aintree 4.05
I think Day two of the Aintree Festival is a very tough one for punters, hence why my first selection is in the 4.05 pm race, and I've got another runner over the National fences.
I whittled this down to a few, but I'm not a huge fan of tipping more than one horse in a race, so I cut the remainders and decided to go for Lounge Lizard, who probably won't be top of the list more than 99% of backers in this race.
I get the feeling that this race has been the end goal for this season for Lounge Lizard as he has mapped a very similar season to last year, where he was intended to run in this race but was withdrawn due to a vet's certificate. We know for certain that he enjoys jumping this type of obstacle, as he was pinging the fences when he was tried over them back in 2023 in the 3m 2f race in the Becher. Just after halfway round that race, he started to make mistakes, but he was leading at the time alongside a loose horse, and I think the loose horse put him off, and his confidence was shattered after that one mistake, resulting in a couple of sloppy jumps over the next few. He managed to get himself back in contention before turning for the long straight, but his stamina didn't manage to last, and in hindsight, he is definitely better over shorter distances, like today's trip, and the heavy ground that day was probably too much for him.
He should enjoy the quicker ground conditions that he faces today, but also, the 2m 5f trip should be ideal for him. He is a quirky sort, so Sam Twiston-Davies will have to try and keep a lid on him, so don't be surprised if he starts off toward the back of the field (not ideal) but will slowly weave his way through, like he did in the Becher.
Jupiter Des Mottes 40/1 EW (4pl) – Aintree 4.40
A race I like to back Lucinda Russell runners in is this race at Aintree, which is the Grade 1 novice hurdle race over 3m.
Lucinda Russell has a fantastic record in this race over the last five years; she has managed to win this race twice and had a horse finish third, all at big odds. Ahoy Senor won this in 2021 at odds of 66/1, Haute Estime was 100/1 (placed in third), and Apple Away won it at odds of 16/1 in 2023. She didn't have a runner in this race last year, so it goes to show she doesn't force having a runner in the race unless the yard firmly believes that they are going there with a chance to win. She has two runners in the race this year, so fingers crossed I've picked the right one!
I've gone for Jupiter Des Mottes, and it's firmly because Patrick Wadge is in the saddle. Whenever Derek Fox is injured, Patrick is the main man for the stable, and you'd like to think he knows which horse has the better chance of winning, given he is at the yard every day.
This is a Grade 1, but it is a very weak one, so there are reasons to believe there could be a shock, and history would tell you that. The Irish don't tend to send many for this, but there are a couple with Argento Boy and Familiar Dreams, who will be fancied as they are from the big yards, but if they were standouts for the yard, they would've done better at the Cheltenham Festival (aimed at Argento) or would have run there.
There's not much form to go off with my selection as he has only run twice over hurdles, resulting in a win and a runner-up. Both runs were over 2m 4f, so there is definitely room for improvement for the step-up in trip.
She's A Saint 20/1 EW (5pl) – Aintree 5.15
For my final selection of Day two, I've gone for She's A Saint, who could be very well handicapped on old pieces of form, but it will all come down to her fitness.
A couple of years ago, She's A Saint was being very hyped up as a horse who could win a fair amount of Class 1 races, especially in the mare's races. It didn't exactly go to plan, but she still managed to have some good performances in her defeats, and now she is an 8-year-old, I think she could be thrown in off her handicap mark, and if she has matured and learnt to settle, she is a dark horse for this race.
She was second to Luccia, who we all know was a very good mare on her day, and then she was a runner-up to You Wear It Well and Apple Away on her final two starts of 2023, both very good mares in their own rights. She has clearly had problems as she was off the track for 448 days, she returned with a runner-up finish at Cartmel last May and has been off the track since, which does raise a few questions about her wellbeing, but Dan Skelton clearly thinks she is ready to race as he is chucking her into a race at the Aintree Grand National Festival. She is running off a mark of 124, and Tristan Durrell takes off 3lbs, meaning she is running off a weight of 10st 2lbs.
Dan is an incredible target trainer, especially with her hurdlers, so it would not surprise me if this has been the plan for some time.
GambleAware