At Aintree tomorrow I am hoping that Honest John can get us off to a winning start in the opener at 12.30. He won a strong bumper at the Liverpool track last season and looks an exciting prospect.
Quarry Town would normally be my selection in the 1.05 but my enthusiasm is tempered somewhat by the form of the David Pipe runners. Having said that there wasn’t much wrong with Tamarinbleu’s effort today.
Gwnako has proved he can handle the Aintree fences and would be one of my leading fancies for the 1.40 where perhaps the Nicholls/Thomas combination can gain some compensation for the defeat of Kauto Star. The other one on my original short list for this was Regal Heights who looks as though he has been trained with this race in mind. He would almost certainly need soft ground though as all his form has been in the mud.
Serabad won twice last season when trained by Peter Bowen. He is now with Tim Vaughan who runs him in the handicap hurdle at 2.15. He could well be open to further improvement. The same can be said of Auroras Encore from Sue Smith’s yard. These are my two against the field in this race.
Ferdy Murphy has made a slow start to the season but that is not really unusual. He does not rush his horses and one or two have been showing signs of form recently. He has Noir et Vert in the Becher Chase at 2.50 and I think this one has an each way chance at around 14/1.
Quaddick Lane and Tom Know’s are a couple that I fancy in the 3.25 but again there has to be a slight doubt over the well being of some of the David Pipe runners. Market support for either of these two would be worth noting. General Potter looks the type to improve with time and he has an each way chance.
Vodka Brook should be there or thereabouts in the 2.40 at Plumpton while my nap of the day is Pandorama in the 1.00 at Navan.
I must thank the artists responsible for my two pictures today. The one at the top of the page is by Margaret Barrett and the second one, showing Comply or Die on his way to winning the Grand National last season is by Katie Scorgie. Katy Scorgie was commissioned by the Spinal Injuries Association to paint this picture and it is featured on their Christmas cards. These are available online from http://www.spinal.co.uk or by telephoning 01462 735 745
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