The Cheltenham Festival is now consigned to the memory bank but racing fans don’t have long to wait for the next instalment of major spring festival action in Britain.
The Grand National Festival at Aintree takes place from Thursday April 3rd until Saturday April 5th, with the Grade 1 Aintree Bowl amongst the key prizes on day one. A number of irish betting sites are offering betting on the Day 1 feature.
Will we see any of the beaten Gold Cup runners on Merseyside, or will it be a fresh horse that takes this prize?
The Real Whacker heads for Aintree
The Real Whacker finished fifth in the Gold Cup for trainer Patrick Neville, who felt his stable star ran well after being denied a clear sight of the opening fence when Banbridge ran across him.
“He never got into his rhythm jumping after that, he was just careful and wasn’t letting fly,” he said.
“Looking back at it, Brian (Hughes) did well to stay on him as the horse in front of him (Banbridge) just crossed him at the last second and he said he never saw the fence. He was lucky he didn’t come down.”
Aintree is the next stopping point for The Real Whacker says Neville, for what will be a first visit to the Merseyside track and a potential fact-finding mission for 2026.
He added: “I scratched him from the National and put him in the Bowl, so that’s where he’ll go. We’ll test whether he likes the track and we can aim him at the National next year.”
Of the other Gold Cup protagonists, it seems most likely we might see Ahoy Senor at Aintree, scene of his biggest days in the past, while Banbridge would be a great fit for the race back at the scene of his win in the Grade 1 Manifesto Novices’ Chase in 2023, should connections see fit to turn him out.
Stage Star heading for Liverpool
Stage Star was disappointing in that race two years ago when Banbridge won, but the Paul Nicholls inmate is being readied for a return to Aintree, where he was fourth in the Old Roan Chase in October.
He’s had two runs since, both at Cheltenham, and pleased his connections when second to L’homme Presse in the Cotswold Chase on Trials Day in January.
That was easily his best run of the season, and the decision afterwards was to skip Cheltenham and take aim at the Bowl.
Owners Group racing manager Dan Downie said: “Harry [Cobden) got off and said it is one of the best runs he’s ever had. He was delighted. It was just really good to see him back to form.”
Skelton runner could be the key
It will be a point of interest to see how Willie Mullins lines up his team for the remaining spring targets.
Last year, the Closutton behemoth was on an all-out attack in his quest to win the trainers’ title but a repeat assault isn’t being mooted now.
So, too, Gordon Elliott’s approach to the three days in Liverpool will provoke interest, possibly more so if Mullins is holding back for Punchestown.
One horse we do know is Aintree-bound is Grey Dawning for Dan and Harry Skelton. His Betfair Chase second at Haydock in November was laced with promise but things went awry in the King George, perhaps with his comeback having left a mark.
He had a break and was back on song winning the Premier Chase at Kelso early in March, after which Aintree was pinpointed.
“We think there’s a Grade 1 in him this season and we hope that’s at Aintree,” was Dan Skelton’s assessment after Kelso.
If he’s proved to be right, it could be the key race in pointing the Warwickshire handler to the trainers’ championship he craves.
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