The value tip on Day 1 was Spillane's Tower, and he was disappointing.
His jumping was horrendous from the very beginning, and I can't believe Mark Walsh didn't pull him up sooner than he did.
The race looked like it was going to be set up for him to give his running late on, as there was pace on and he sat off it. He didn't get a chance to showcase that, as he did his best not to jump any fences with fluency.
Bill Baxter 22/1 (6pl) – Aintree 4.05
I think Warren Greatrex's horse, Bill Baxter, is being massively overlooked in this contest.
Bill Baxter won this race in 2023, doing it off a 3lb lower mark than today's handicap mark. He is now a ten-year-old, so it's not going to be an easy thing to win three years on from a higher mark, but at odds 22/1, I think he has a better chance.
He has been running well this year, if you can ignore the Market Rasen performance in January. He was second over hurdles to Haiti Couleurs at Newbury, and then was sixth over the National fences in the Becher over 3m 2f.
Last time out, he bumped into King Of Answers at Kelso, who was very well-handicapped. I put up King Of Answers for the Kim Muir at Cheltenham, and I think he should have won that race if Derek Fox had given him a proper ride, rather than sitting like a passenger. Also, I think that horse has a superb chance in the Scottish National in a few weeks time.
Bill Baxter has dropped 1lb for his recent effort, which was still deemed to be better than his mark at the time. He gets in this off a weight of 10st 4lbs, and he showed that he is dangerous at this time of the year by winning at the Punchestown Festival last May.
I believe he'll be in the frame, and that there are much worse priced horses in this race.
GambleAware