Key Points
- Day 2 of the 2024 Aintree Grand National meeting
- Preview and betting tips for all four Grade 1s on Friday
- My runner-by-runner guide to the Grand National coming tomorrow
Jonbon finally goes up in trip for the Melling Chase
We move swiftly on to Day 2 of the Aintree Grand National Meeting and we have another four Grade 1s to examine. The opening day features some superb racing action and it is only going to get better as the week goes on. On that note, my Day 2 ‘must-see’ race is definitely the Melling Chase which is where we will finally get to see Jonbon step up to the intermediate trip for the first time.
A lot of punters have been calling for this move for a while now and personally, I think it will be the making of him, but we will just have to wait until Friday now to find out. We also get to see Mystical Power and Firefox go head-to-head and this is going to be a brilliant tactical race. Both horses have tons of speed, as seen in last month's Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, where they placed second and third respectively. I can’t wait to see the pair of them battle it out on a flatter track. Overall, Day 2 is an absolute cracker.
Before I move onto my previews, just a quick reminder that tomorrow you’ve got two treats to look forward to. My runner-by-runner guide to the Grand National will be out shortly after final declarations followed a little later by my Day 3 preview and betting tips. So there’s plenty to get excited about.
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13:45 Aintree - The Mildmay Novices Chase - 3m 1f
Day Two of the Aintree Grand National meeting gets underway with the Mildmay Novices’ Chase and you could easily give all six runners a chance here.
Inothewayurthinkin
is the well-supported favourite after winning the Kim Muir and he looked a Graded animal running that day so it’s no surprise to see him at the head of the market for this.
He didn’t have the hardest race either, so I very much doubt that Cheltenham has left its mark
on this lad.
Chianti Classico is another Cheltenham Festival winner in this race and he was very impressive in the Ultima, winning it from a prominent position, so he definitely deserves to take his chance in this Grade 1. On the other hand, Iroko would need to leave his Turner’s form behind him to feature here, and he wouldn’t interest me from a betting perspective. I would have to see some on course improvement before getting involved with him.
I think
Heart Wood
is very interesting in this race. He was mightily impressive at the Dublin Racing Festival winning a 25 runner handicap by 14 lengths and it could easily have been further. He is still open to a lot of improvement and is probably overpriced at 7/1, whilst Broadway Boy has credentials coming here from a break. This is a really tough race to figure out and when it’s so easy to fancy three or four in a small field race like this, it’s probably best to leave it alone. However from a price perspective,
the 7/1 price about Heart Wood could well be the value bet of the race and on that basis I’ll side with him
but the first two in the betting are hard to split.
The GJ verdict
Winner: Heart Wood
Placepot: Inothewayurthinkin
14:55 Aintree - The Top Novices’ Hurdle 2m 1/2f
The Top Novices’ Hurdle is absolutely fascinating this year. Dysart Enos comes up against the boys here and she skipped Cheltenham so is fresher than her rivals, but this is a big task for her despite getting the mares’ allowance. She is all speed and I think she will run her race, but I find it hard to see her winning nonetheless. Golden Ace won the Mares Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham and to be fair, the form has been franked nicely by Jade De Grugy since, but this is a huge ask for him.
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle runner-up,
Mystical Power, heads the betting for JP McManus and Willie Mullins.
Mystical Power ran a great race over two miles at the Cheltenham Festival and that sets a fair standard, but I think he is beatable here, especially with Firefox in the field.
Firefox
had a lot go wrong for him in the Supreme, but still managed to finish third. He was running a big race, but errors and traffic problems caused by other runners came at a crucial time, and it was always going to be a massive task for him to recover from where he was.
I think Firefox will come to Aintree fully fit though and the flatter track here should be right up his street. On the whole, I think the betting has this race about right, and I’ll side with Firefox to reverse the Cheltenham form with Mystical Power.
The GJ verdict
Winner: Firefox
Placepot: Mystical Power
15:30 Aintree - The Melling Chase - 2m 4f
Next up we have the Melling Chase, which is a really tricky race to figure out. Protektorat is here, trying to pull off the Cheltenham/Aintree double after winning the Ryanair last month and he has to have a good chance. My concern with Protektorat is that this run might have come too soon for him. He may well be fine, but he has had a busy campaign and this will be his sixth run of the season, so on that basis I'll take him on.
Pic D’Orhy is a lovely horse for Paul Nicholls, and he will certainly appreciate this flat track, but I’m not totally convinced he is up to Grade 1 standard. That said, he likes to race quite prominently and if he can get up front, he’ll give the rest a run for their money.
Envoi Allen
isn’t getting any younger, but
he is a former Ryanair winner and is sure to run a big race again, so I certainly wouldn’t underestimate his ability.
However, I’ve decided to go for
Jonbon. Connections have finally decided to let him try the intermediate trip and I believe this could be the making of him. He is a cracking jumper on his day and we know he has buckets of class too.
The fact he didn’t run at Cheltenham means he comes here fresh, which will also help him out over this longer trip. I think Jonbon can win this if he is in the right frame of mind, but it will need to be a seriously good performance as he takes on two Ryanair Chase winners over an unfamiliar trip.
The GJ verdict
Winner: Jonbon
Placepot: Envoi Allen
16:40 Aintree - The Sefton Novices’ Hurdle - 3m
The final Grade 1 on Day Two of the Aintree Meeting is the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle and The Jukebox Man is going to try and get redemption after being chinned in the Albert Bartlett last month. But he has some seriously good horses in the lineup behind him. Readin Tommy Wrong was sent off as the strong favourite that day, but pulled up having never looked comfortable. He has a lot to prove off the back of that and he wasn’t exactly well-fancied when he won the Lawlors Of Naas. Although his price shortened, he still went off at 16/1 and I won’t have him at all, despite his preference for a flat track.
Dancing City ran a good race at Cheltenham and he seems a very straightforward type. I think he has potential for a place, but as far as winning credentials go, he will need to find some more improvement first. Personally, I think we have already seen his peak form and I’d be very disappointed if he wins this.
Shannagh Bob, for Nicky Henderson is the most interesting contender here, and he is the one I am going for. He has won both of his starts under Rules, despite looking very green.
The fact that he was able to win both races when obviously lacking experience, suggests he is open to plenty. He has since had 188 days off the track, so I would expect him to be up for another big step forward here.
Croke Park
is a horse I absolutely love and I was gutted he didn’t make it to Cheltenham this time.
He certainly isn’t the finished article yet but I think that when they get to the bottom of this one, Gordon Elliott is going to have a seriously good Chaser
on his hands.
The GJ verdict
Winner: Shannagh Bob
Placepot: Croke Park
Betting tips for Aintree Day 1
Winners enclosure
- 13:45 - Heart Wood
- 14:55 - Firefox
- 15:30 - Jonbon
- 16:40 - Shannagh Bob
Plays for a place
- 13:45 - Inothewayurthinkin
- 14:55 - Mystical Power
- 15:30 - Envoi Allen
- 16:40 - Croke Park
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