Grand National Festival: Aintree Hurdle Runner-Up Guide for Thursday’s Level One Hurdles Feature | Racing news
The Races presenter Vanessa Ryle analyzes every runner and gives her pick for Aintree Hurdle Thursday at the Grand National Festival.
The Grade One Aintree Hurdle is the premier middle distance hurdles race of the season and offers the perfect opportunity for the Champion Hurdlers to step up in the road and, since the race’s inauguration in 1976, it has proven ant many top two riders do just that. that’s all.
In recent years, Hurdlers champions Jezki, Annie Power and Buveur D’air have all excelled in the ride and scored in the competition and although this year’s renewal does not include the hurdles star of the era Our race, Honeysuckle, still looks set to be based on her Champion Hurdle win and the outcome is likely to boost her performance even further.
Brewin’upastorm
Olly Murphy, 9 years old, entered this race 12 months ago and never really wanted to enter the competition, only finishing fifth, and he still hasn’t proven himself in 1st place.
Since returning this season from a wind surgery, he has added two more wins to his tally, including run and distance at the start of the season, but perhaps a good performance. His best is when joining the dots in Relkeel Hurdle, which he looks like winning when falling last.
This is his big goal in the spring, and probably the whole season.
Glory and fortune
Starting in mid-September, Tom Lacey’s gelding climbed the ranks from the handicap hurdle at Plumpton at 130 to being beaten by Honeysuckle by under 10 lengths in Champion Hurdle.
Officially, he has improved 24lb over the course of the last seven months and in that time he has sent Epatante home for the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton and also won the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury.
One of his disappointing exams, however, came when he was tested on his first trip to Newbury in November and he didn’t appreciate the extra distance, so one question mark remains. Can he prove to be a Class One standard at this distance?
Protect your dreams
On official rankings and all known forms, Nigel Twiston-Davies’ six-year-old will need to improve significantly to make it to this competition but he is one of the confirmed stayers. at this trip.
When he was last seen at Fontwell, finishing behind Brewin’upastorm, he didn’t have the clearest run and a sloppy last-minute jump meant he was beaten further than he was. should have.
He ran in the Mersey Novices’ Hurdle 12 months ago, managed to finish in second place for a great price, and could easily repeat the journey and distance if the others didn’t put a stop. Inquiries regarding the trip.
McFabulous
One of two runners-up in the race for Paul Nicholls, he was due to run in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham but was only withdrawn because the pitch was soaked with rain.
The championship coach has now decided to take a different route by bringing the eight-year-old back to the Tier One company again. He entered this race in 2021 and, in a similar way to Brewin’upastorm, he had an underdog to finish.
A summer break and an extended break saw him start back in January with a promising run but testing lifted him three miles when we last saw him. works and now he’s back on his favorite ride.
He is a fresher horse than many of the participants in this race and although he doesn’t always look the easiest to ride he is still a horse with a lot of ability.
Monmiral
The five-year-old followed a thorny path as a brilliant and undefeated teenager last term, only to enter the open hurdles company this season and the wheels swerve a little on two occasions. restart.
Similar to his steady friend McFabulous, he’s raced very lightly this season due to an injury he sustained when he re-emerged in Fighting Fifth in November.
He will be entitled to become physically fit for his run at Fontwell when he finishes after Guard Your Dreams and, although unproven at the ride, he looks to be the type of person who will keep his strength. fit, but it will be a huge workout to get him back to his best form at this point in the season in a race of this nature.
Zanahiyr
Gordon Elliott’s five-year-old has enjoyed a steady first season at the top of the table in the open company, running solid races behind Honeysuckle and Sharjah in all four of his last starts.
The best of them comes when we last see him at Cheltenham in Champion Hurdle, where he’s only beaten by Honeysuckle and Epatante, for both mares (7lb) in the process.
His running style suggests he’ll appreciate walking up to two and a half miles for the first time and it’s certainly in his favor that this isn’t something so hot in Class One as what it is. he faced earlier in his career. .
There are strong similarities to Abacadabras, who won this for the pitch (then managed by Denise Foster) last year.
Epatante
Winning the 2020 Championship Race, JP McManus’ mares bring class-leading performance into the race. A five-time First Division champion over two miles, she will now take the first step of her career, at the age of eight.
Chasing Honeysuckle home in Champion Hurdle is positive proof that she’s back somewhere closest to herself, having suffered a few physical problems over the past year, but the question remains whether the trip will be. Is it suitable for her?
She’s always looked like the fast-travelling, strong-willed type and wouldn’t be an obvious candidate to appreciate the tougher test that awaits her at Aintree.
Vanessa Ryle’s Verdict
Hardly a classic Aintree Hurdle innovation and there are question marks on all seven competitors for one reason or another, but the bottom line is, this pair is ahead of the rest in terms of competition. form, ZANAHIYR are more likely to like the new ride than Epatante.
There are strong similarities between Zanahiyr and last year’s winner, Abacadabras, who was also partnered by Jack Kennedy.