2024 Aintree Festival Friday Preview & Tips – DS
2024 Aintree Festival Friday Preview
We went 0/4 on Day 1 of the Grand National Meeting. The ground rode much better than I expected and that was no good for Colonel Harry or Beacon Edge. Gentlemansgame ran better than he did at Cheltenham, he just lacked a bit of speed in the last 2f. Bythesametoken was never put into the race and he is one for another day. Fingers crossed for some better runs on Day 2, 2024 Aintree Festival Friday tips are below.
1.45 – Mildmay Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)
Just six runners in this 25f Grade 1. Inothewayurthinkin is the market leader on the back of his wide margin win in the Kim Muir off 145. He looks an out and out stayer and the quicker they go here the better it will suit him.
Chianti Classico won the Ultima off 143 and he now takes the step up into Grade 1 company. The 7yo needs to improve again to win this but that is possible. The worry for the two of them is that they ran massive races at Cheltenham and that can often take a toll.
Iroko also ran at Cheltenham but he came into the race on the back of a five month absence. He ought to strip fitter for that run in the Turners and he ran a cracker behind Apple Away in a Grade 1 hurdle at this meeting last season. He may well be the one to be on but odds of 4/1 are no good to us.
Keep The Faith
Heart Wood and Broadway Boy missed the festival and they can’t be discounted but the one I am going to keep faith in is Giovinco. He ran a massive race for us behind Fact Or File at Cheltenham and he has winning C&D form in the book. That was only a handicap but subsequent runs in a Sandown G2 and at the Festival last time proved he can be competitive at this higher level.
Stephen Mulqueen gets on well with the 7yo son of Walk In The Park and he will have no issues on the soft ground. I am hoping he travels just as well as he did at Cheltenham and that he finishes off his race more strongly on this easier track. At odds of 10/1, Giovinco is the e/w selection.
2024 Aintree Festival Friday Tip: Giovinco e/w @ 10/1
2.20 – William Hill Handicap Hurdle (Premier)
The first of two big handicaps on today’s card and we have a maximum field of 22. The one I’ll take a punt on here at a working man’s price is Sonigino. Trained by Paul Nicholls, Freddie Gingell takes off what could be a crucial 5lbs on this testing ground.
This son of It’s Gino has flopped the last twice, at Kempton in January and then at the Festival in March. However, previous to those two runs he ran out an emphatic winner of an Aintree 20f handicap, scoring by 6L off a mark of 137 under Harry Cobden.
The handicapper has let him in off 141 today so with Gingell’s claim, he’s effectively a pound lower than when winning here in December. It wasn’t his first good run at Aintree either. At this meeting last year he was an unlucky third in this race off 133 so he has run blinders on both previous visits to Merseyside. Hopefully he can make it three today, back Sonigino e/w at odds of 25/1.
2024 Aintree Festival Friday Tip: Sonigino e/w @ 25/1 (5 places) nb
2.55 – Top Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
Golden Ace gave us a great thrill when winning at Cheltenham and I am fascinated to see how she fares against this lot. She beat the very highly touted Brighterdaysahead at the Festival but she is up against the boys today. The style of her win last time out suggested that a speedier track might suit and I can’t wait to see how she gets on here.
That being said, this does look a much tougher proposition. Mystical Power is extremely well bred and he’s looking to go one better after a fine effort in the Supreme behind Slade Steel. He may well appreciate this flatter track and he probably deserves to be favourite.
Ballyburn Form
Firefox was a couple of lengths behind Mystical Power in the Supreme but he didn’t enjoy the smoothest of passages. I can see him closing the gap to that rival and his maiden hurdle win over Ballyburn stands out like a sore thumb.
Dysart Enos missed Cheltenham and her connections will be hoping the ground dries out. She beat Golden Ace 9L in the G2 mares’ bumper on this card last year (17f gd/sft) and it’ll be interesting to see how she copes with this big step up in grade.
Swerved Cheltenham
Mistergif has a bit to find on his Supreme run and he is another one that may be better suited by this track. The interesting one for me here at a nice price is Lump Sum. He swerved Cheltenham so he’ll be fresher than some of these and he hacked up in a Kempton G2 on his last start (16f sft).
This son of Authorized has form figures of 111 on soft and heavy ground and the only horse that has beaten him over hurdles is the highly rated Jeriko Du Reponet. That was on good ground though and he should have his ideal conditions today. Lump Sum’s owners have a near 50% frame hitting strike rate at Aintree (9/42 with 11 top 4s), hopefully that record is enhanced today at odds of 16/1.
2024 Aintree Festival Friday Tip: Lump Sum e/w @ 16/1
3.30 – Melling Chase (Grade 1)
Another cracking race. Just seven run and to be honest, it looks like a race that will be dominated by the market leaders. Jonbon missed Cheltenham due to the virus in Nicky Henderson’s yard but his backers will be encouraged by Sir Gino’s win on Thursday.
The 1-2-3 from the Ryanair, Protektorat, Envoi Allen and Conflated pitch up here and Pic D’Orhy adds even more intrigue. The fact he skipped Cheltenham may prove to be significant. Easy Game beat Bravemansgame at Gowran on his last start and if he is fully fit, he could get involved at the business end.
However, this is a race that I am happy to leave alone. Hopefully it turns out to be as good a race as it looks on paper. No bet.
2024 Aintree Festival Friday Tip: No Bet
4.05 – Topham Handicap Chase (Premier)
We’ll get a good idea of just how testing the conditions are on the National course in this race. The ground didn’t look too bad on the conventional course on Thursday but this track is currently described as being heavy.
Peter Bowen is the man to follow in this race and he relies on Francky Du Berlais this year. Very long time might remember me putting this horse up for this race in 2022 and he didn’t let us down, landing the place money in fourth off 135.
Francky ran in the big one last year and while he got around, the trip proved too far for him. He was last sighted running in a handicap at Kempton in February and he finished well beaten in fifth. However, previous to that he ran two crackers in the cross country at Cheltenham, including a fine second behind Latenightpass off 134.
The 11yo son of Saint Des Saints gets in off 134 today, a pound lower than he was in 2022. With James and Sean Bowen otherwise engaged, Robbie Dunne comes in for the ride and it could prove to be a nice spare for him. Hopefully the ground keeps on drying out and if it does, Francky Du Berlais will hopefully outrun his odds of 33/1.
2024 Aintree Festival Friday Tip: Francky Du Berlais e/w @ 33/1 (6 places)
4.40 – Sefton Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
We have a couple of old friends of the blog in this staying Grade 1 for the novices. The Jukebox Man went agonisingly close to winning the Albert Bartlett, chinned in the dying strides by Stellar Story. He had a really hard race though and his odds of 7/2 make zero appeal today.
Another horse we backed last time out is Pinot Rouge. Trained by Susan Corbett, this mare won for us at 25/1 at Doncaster last month (24f sft). She stayed on really well after the last to get up for the win and the daughter of Vendangeur clearly loves a slog.
Tougher Race
Now, this is obviously much tougher than the last day but she could still improve. That last run was only the third of her life and one of those came in a P2P. She still looked a bit green under pressure last time so the cheekpieces look a wise addition and Edward Austin keeps the ride.
There should be loads of early pace in this and that will suit Pinot Rouge. Of course, there is a chance that the handicapper is right and she is miles out of her depth here. However, she owes us nothing and the fact that she has had two weeks extra of a break compared to her rivals that ran at Cheltenham has to rate as a plus. At odds of 66/1, a half stakes e/w bet is advised.
