Grand National Festival - Ladies Day Tips
Grand National Ladies Day Tips
After the first day of fantastic racing action, the Grand National Festival at Aintree Racecourses goes into it's second day, Ladies Day. Aintree Racecourse, like most racecourses, brings a bumper crowd in for it's Ladies day extravaganza's and the day is one of the biggest social events in the UK, particularly in the North West of the United Kingdom. Not just a horse racing event but also a fashion event which brings some of the biggest names in fashion to Aintree with style awards for the best-dressed ladies on the day. However, when it comes to betting, you aren't looking for tips on the Fashionista of the day, you're looking for tips ahead of the racing on second day of the festival.
Ladies' day attracts big names, with four Grade One contests starring throughout, some of the most popular horses from the Cheltenham Festival come to Aintree with the aim of either righting the wrongs of the festival or looking to perform even better and bringing home massive amounts of prize money for the owner.
BetUK: Grand National Festival - Day 2 Predictions
Aintree’s Grand National Festival continues on Friday and we have yet another quality-packed day of racing to look forward to.
Friday's card runs from 13:45-17:15 and includes four more Grade 1 races as well as some excellent handicap action. The Melling Chase (15:30) and the Top Novices’ Hurdle (14:55) are two of the main highlights on the day.
We’ve taken a good look at the card and picked out our best bets for each of the seven races.
13:45 - Huyton Asphalt Franny Blennerhassett Memorial Mildmay Novices' Chase (Grade 1, 3m1f)
This is an interesting race as the two market principals won handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival, rather than Grade 1 novice chases. That being said, CHIANTI CLASSICO was a pretty dominant winner of the Ultima which looked very competitive beforehand. Kim Bailey’s seven-year-old has always shown plenty of ability and he has certainly earned a shot at this level. He gets the nod ahead of Inothewayurthinkin, but there isn’t much between them. Iroko deserves a mention here but he could be one for next season.
14:20 - William Hill Premier Handicap Hurdle (2m4f)
Dan Skelton tends to do well in handicaps at both Cheltenham and Aintree and his runners have to be considered but Ben Pauling has had an excellent season so far and he runs the progressive CHAMPAGNE TWIST here. Improving with every run, he was a good winner of a decent novice handicap at Sandown last time out. A 7lb rise doesn’t seem too harsh on that evidence and further progress is expected before the handicapper catches up.
14:55 - TrustATrader Top Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1, 2m½f)
The second, third and fifth in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle all line up here and it seems likely that they will provide the crucial form line. Irish trainers have won three of the last four renewals of this race and that trend looks set to continue.
MYSTICAL POWER got outstayed by Slade Steel when finishing second in the Supreme and he looks well set to gain compensation here. The sharper track should be to his liking this time around and it would be disappointing if he doesn’t come out on top.
15:25 - My Pension Expert Melling Chase (Grade 1, 2m4f)
JONBON has been crying out for this step up in trip and it has finally come. Nicky Henderson’s gelding won his sole Irish point over three-miles by 15-lengths and has shaped in recent years as if he’s just not quite sharp enough to contend with the top two-milers.
He should be fresh and well as a result of missing Cheltenham and this is a good opportunity to re-establish himself as a top-class chaser. His jumping let him down last time out but the extra distance here should help.
16:05 - Randox Supports Race Against Dementia Topham Handicap Chase (2m5f)
LIFE IN THE PARK was an eye-catching fourth in the Plate at Cheltenham last time out and should find this stamina-zapping course to his liking. Henry de Bromhead’s seven-year-old is likely to be doing his best work late on once again and if he’s still in with a chance when they reach the elbow, a big run may well be on the cards. A 1lb rise looks pretty manageable and shouldn’t be much of a hindrance here.
16:40 - Cavani Sartorial Menswear Sefton Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1, 3m½f)
CROKE PARK was meant to line up in the Albert Bartlett instead of eventual winner Stellar Story, which suggests that this horse is highly regarded. He’ll need to improve significantly on his latest effort as he was well below-par effort in the Lawlor’s Of Naas. There’s some evidence in his pedigree that the step up in trip will suit and he was badly outpaced last time, which also suggests it’ll facilitate improvement. This looks like an open race and Gordon Elliott’s gelding is entitled to take his chance.
15:35 - Alder Hey Handicap Hurdle (2m½f)
AFADIL received an enterprising ride from Freddie Gingell when stealing a few lengths at the start of the County Hurdle and making the running. He was eventually caught by some better horses but still managed to finish fifth. Similarly positive tactics could work here as the flatter track will make it less of a test. A repeat effort would surely put Paul Nicholls’ runner right in the mix here.
