A reshuffle of the feature races over the three days means the John Smith’s Aintree Hurdle gets top billing on the opening afternoon of the Grand National meeting. Dual race winner Oscar Whisky goes for three in a row but has a question or two to answer, having been pulled up at Cheltenham, and with that in mind a chance is taken on novice The New One.
Nigel Twiston-Davies never minds shooting for the stars and in this five-year-old has a horse he feels will challenge for the Champion Hurdle next season. The New One could hardly have been more impressive in the Neptune last month and a drying week is right up his street as he has a real turn of foot on decent ground.
The Paul Nicholls-trained Silviniaco Conti cannot realistically be opposed in the Betfred Bowl. A winner at this fixture 12 months ago, the seven-year-old has been on a seriously upward curve this season, winning the Charlie Hall, Betfair Chase and Denman Chase.
That meant he headed to the Gold Cup with strong claims and despite the fact he fell, his performance backed up the impression he would run a big race. He was far from out of it when departing at the third-last, in fact it could be said he was still going at least as well as anything.
Irish Saint gets the vote in the Matalan Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle. It will be a little surprising if this year's renewal of the Grade One event contains a genuine star of the future. But the fact Nicholls opted to bypass Cheltenham to wait for this is encouraging.
He was behind Rolling Star at Cheltenham in January but given he has twice won at Kempton he is clearly more at home on a flat track such as this.
A first look at the fearsome National fences comes in the John Smith's Fox Hunters' Chase where the Nicholls-trained Gwanako looks fairly certain to play a leading role.
