Aintree Preview

Cheltenham isn't what it once was, the Grand National isn't either, policemen have been looking younger for longer than I care to remember and my favourite TV programmes are Dad's Army and the Maigret's from the 1960's and 1990's on Talking Pictures TV.

It is still possible to back winners, though, and I suppose I'd even take an interest in golf if I could make it pay. Don't quote me on that.

It is no longer proper to refer to the 'loony bin'- and for good reasons - but anybody suggesting we take on Willie Mullins tomorrow could be a candidate for such a place with Irish racing and him in particular in such ascendency over horses that live in the UK. One really, really would like to see Mr. Henderson back winning big races with Shishkin and Sir Gino but their prices don't seem to have the lingering doubts factored in and, even if they did, a good effort by an 8/1 loser doesn't pay out. There's no room for sentiment even in compiling my modest annual profit. I do enough daft things as it is and I'm talking myself out of those horses as I write.

Firstly, though, tomorrow, we'll start with the last where Honky Tonk Highway looks like she's being backed for the in form Skelton stable who helped themselves to lesser prizes at Market Rasen today. Having always been a believer in Grey Dawning, who convinced at Cheltenham, I'll just about take the short price that he's recovered from those efforts and will be able to confirm the form. They'd be the bets with the other races swerved with the possibility that Saint Roi might prevent the Skeltons having it all their own way but I'd rather have the races in a different order and not do that until we are winning.

 

On Friday, Chianti Classico was almost too good to be true at Cheltenham and would have to be very tempting if he could do that again but Mystical Power is surely a Mullins good thing after making me think I was off to a winning start there. Aintree could be that fraction easier and he could be the best business of the three days.

I remember very glibly, some 40 years ago in the pub, telling someone that I didn't always back the winner of the National but I'd always find a winner elsewhere on the card. To be fair, I didn't do too badly at the big race but I can see no reason why Teahupoo doesn't win the hurdle at 3.05 and that goes into the trebles from the four horses in bold type here that is the bet.

The more optimistic and ambitious types might want to flirt with the idea of untold riches and the excitement of the race which was once, like the Cup Final, something that almost everybody was interested in but now they aren't. I'm slightly put off by two of the three pundits on the At the Races preview, including Matt Chapman, agreed with what I'd done already, I Am Maximus, pictured. That would be hard to take for Mr. Henderson who trained him once but now Mr. Mullins does and the case was made that if anything in this field has the potential to be better than we know already, it's him. I hear my friends saying Mr. Incredible and Vanillier and I can see why they do but I went through the race again, looking for somewhere to hedge with a free bet and I decided to double down on Maximus rather than cover it with something else.

 

Cheltenham's gorgeously quieter meeting comes next week and then, as I always say, I shut up shop and wait for the October pay days. It's never quite like that but heaven knows I try.