NEWS | PREMIUM TIPS | STAKING | RESULTS | PLAY
NEWS | PREMIUM TIPS | STAKING | RESULTS | PLAY
The opening race of the festival has a clear form line running straight through it and it starts at Cheltenham last month. Maestro Conti ran a career best in the Triumph Hurdle, travelling powerfully through the race under Harry Skelton before the famous hill found him out in the closing stages. That is a crucial detail, Aintree is a fundamentally different test to Cheltenham, flatter and more galloping, and a horse that moves through a race as fluently as Maestro Conti does is going to be far more dangerous here than the Triumph result suggests.
The Dan Skelton yard is operating at the top of its game and this French bred gelding has been building toward a performance like this all season, winning the Grade 2 Finesse Hurdle at Cheltenham’s Trials Day before going so close at the Festival. That precise trail of form, Finesse Hurdle winner to Triumph runner up to Aintree is one that has been walked before and it points squarely at Thursday’s opener. Selma De Vary gets weight for being a filly and Willie Mullins will have her in peak condition, but the form book puts Maestro Conti ahead of her and we are happy to side with the strongest piece of form in the race.
Maestro Conti is RHR’s selection for the opening race of the Aintree Festival. The Triumph Hurdle form translates well to this track and at 3/1 the price reflects a horse the market has not fully committed to despite the evidence pointing firmly in his direction.
There is one horse in this race that the market has already made its mind up about and it is hard to argue with the logic. Lulamba is a monster on ratings, Nicky Henderson had this race circled on the calendar all season, and his third place finish in the Arkle at Cheltenham last month ticks every box for a race like this. The claims are completely justified and in a different market we would be pointing straight at him. But odds on in a novice chase at a Grade 1 festival concentrates the mind and when the favourite is that short the value has to live somewhere else in the field.
That somewhere else is Koktail Divin. Henry De Bromhead sends over a six year old French bred who has been quietly building his profile all season and arrives here with conditions very much in his favour. Ireland has dominated this race in recent seasons, De Bromhead knows exactly how to place a horse at a big meeting, and at 3/1 you are getting a fair price for a horse we genuinely believe can win this race outright. We are not against Lulamba, we simply think the market has left the value sitting squarely with his main market rival and at those odds Koktail Divin deserves your attention.
Koktail Divin is our selection for the Manifesto Novices’ Chase at 3/1. Lulamba’s favouritism is entirely justified but at odds on the value has shifted and we believe it has shifted firmly in Koktail Divin’s direction.
The Aintree Bowl Chase has a habit of catching out horses that have been through the mill at Cheltenham and this year’s renewal is no different. Jango Baie heads the market having finished second in the Gold Cup last month and the form is obvious, but the history of Gold Cup placed horses in this race is a sobering read. The track, the timing and the residual fatigue of Cheltenham’s championship race has caught out far bigger names than this before. At odds on the market is asking you to ignore all of that and we are not prepared to do so.
Impaire Et Passe arrives here having bypassed Cheltenham entirely and that freshness is absolutely crucial in this race. Willie Mullins won this race last season with this very horse after his Manifesto success and connections clearly know how to place him at a big spring festival. Paul Townend takes the ride and when Mullins and Townend combine at a Grade 1 festival with a horse carrying fresh legs and a point to prove, you pay attention. At 5/1 in a five runner field this is a price that simply does not reflect the strength of the case and we are happy to take it.
Impaire Et Passe is our selection for the Aintree Bowl at 5/1. The Gold Cup form dominates the market but history suggests the race belongs to fresh horses and Mullins has given us every reason to believe this one arrives in peak condition.
The Foxhunters over the Grand National fences is one of the most unpredictable races of the entire festival and in a field of 25 amateur riders anything can happen from the moment the tape rises. Its On The Line won this race in 2024, knows every fence on this course, and arrives here at the age of nine which is the absolute prime age for a race like this. Emmet Mullins has him in good heart and the fact he was beaten at Cheltenham last month is easily forgiven, this track and these fences are a completely different proposition and his record here speaks for itself.
At a bigger price Thunder Rock catches the eye considerably. Olly Murphy’s ten year old has won his last two starts and arrives here in the form of his life with Mr James King taking the ride. A jockey who knows these fences intimately and has a strong recent record in this race. At 20/1 in a wide open field this is a horse the market has completely overlooked despite a profile that ticks every box for a race that consistently rewards experienced, in form older horses.
Its On The Line is our selection for the Foxhunters and Thunder Rock is our each way play at 20/1. Both arrive in form, both know how to handle a big field, and both represent far better value than the heavily backed market leaders.
This race has a fascinating subplot running through it and it starts with a horse who has spent the last two seasons terrorising the two mile chase division. El Fabiolo makes a rare switch back to hurdles under Paul Townend for Willie Mullins and the key question every punter is asking is whether that transition works. Our answer is simple, Mullins and Townend do not turn up at a Grade 1 festival with a horse in a race they cannot win. This is a training operation that places horses with surgical precision and if El Fabiolo is here, he is here for one reason.
The form of the Champion Hurdle points strongly toward Brighterdaysahead and The New Lion at the top of the market but history is not kind to Champion Hurdle placed horses in this race and Gordon Elliott has never trained a winner here despite numerous attempts. El Fabiolo brings fresher legs, a proven record at this festival, and the most powerful trainer and jockey combination in jump racing behind him. At 9/2 the market is pricing in the uncertainty of the switch from chasing but we think that uncertainty is precisely where the value lives.
El Fabiolo is our selection for the Aintree Hurdle at 9/2. Mullins and Townend don’t travel to Grade 1 festivals without a plan and at that price the most powerful team in jump racing represents outstanding value.
The Red Rum Handicap Chase has a very specific profile of winner and when you run this field through every filter available one horse emerges with striking clarity. Highlands Legacy has won his last two starts, arrives here as a novice which is a stat that has dominated this race historically. Most crucially this horse ran in last season’s renewal where he showed he handles this track. Jonjo O’Neill Junior takes the ride on a horse that races prominently and on a flat two mile track that rewards fluent jumping and a horse travelling through a race, that front running profile is a significant weapon.
The market has made Sans Bruit favourite for a hat trick bid and the back to back wins command respect, but defending champions have a dreadful record in this race and his form figures since last year’s victory here make for uncomfortable reading. The weight of evidence points away from the favourite for RHR and firmly towards a horse arriving in the form of his life at a track he already knows, at the right age, on the right weight, with every positive trend in his favour.
Highlands Legacy is our selection for the Red Rum Handicap Chase at 8/1. A novice in form, proven at this track, ridden by a jockey who knows how to dictate, this horse ticks every box the history of this race demands.
The closing race of the festival card is a wide open mares bumper but there is one horse whose form trail points directly at this race more clearly than anything else in the field. Ti’Mamzel won the Listed Mares Bumper at Sandown earlier this season, the race that historically provides the strongest guide to this very contest. Connections have plotted a straight course from that victory to Aintree. The five year old profile dominates this race year after year and Ti’Mamzel arrives ticking every box, in the care of Gary and Josh Moore who know exactly how to have a mare cherry ripe for a big spring target.
At a bigger price Tiktok Casey catches the eye considerably. Peter Fahey sends over an Irish five year old with Mark Walsh in the saddle and that jockey booking alone demands attention. Walsh does not take rides at Grade 2 festivals without genuine belief and for one of Ireland’s most respected handlers to make the trip with this mare suggests connections are quietly confident. At 16/1 with five places plus paid with most bookmakers in a twenty runner field the each way proposition is one of the most attractive on the entire card.
Ti’Mamzel is our selection for the Mares Bumper at 15/2 with Tiktok Casey our each way play at 16/1. The Sandown form points directly at Ti’Mamzel and the Walsh booking on Tiktok Casey is not one to dismiss lightly in a race where Irish mares have dominated.
All prices quoted are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. We recommend checking with your bookmaker for the latest odds before placing any bets.
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