The Grand National Festival gets under way at Aintree on Thursday, the card opening with four Grade One contests. After a wet winter the course has been heavily watered to keep the going as soft as planned, so the meeting should be lively. Having come away from Cheltenham with a bit of momentum, I’m hoping for more luck here and have singled out three selections for Thursday.
LETS GO CHAMP (Randox Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase, 3:30)
Mags Mullins’ 11-year-old is an intriguing runner over the National fences. He’s always shown ability but his career has not been straightforward — nearly four years passed between a point-to-point victory and his first racecourse start — yet he developed nicely for Henry de Bromhead, taking a valuable handicap chase at Punchestown and running creditably in big handicap events like the Galway Plate and the Paddy Power Gold Cup.
This season he switched to Mullins to target hunter chasing. He won a point-to-point at Oldtown in February and followed up by beating Hunters Yarn in the Tetratema Cup Hunters Chase at Gowran in March. That form is strong in the context of Irish hunter chases and puts him among the better-credentialled contenders in the field.
His style should suit Aintree: a forward-going, strong-travelling staying type who jumps well and handles the larger obstacles. Sophie Carter partnered him for his last two wins (she’s not able to claim here), so there’s continuity in the way he is ridden. Given how the market has him priced, he looks good value to me.
SANS BRUIT (Close Brothers Red Rum Handicap Chase, 4:40)
Paul Nicholls’ veteran has made this race look like his to lose over the past two renewals and stands out on form. He won this off a 130 mark in 2024, then ran respectably off higher weights and was eased back by the handicapper after a couple of below-par efforts, only to return and take the race again. He also followed up with a valuable handicap success at Plumpton off a heavier mark.
The handicapper has eased his rating again this season — a significant drop across a sequence of runs that were not disastrous — and that leaves him presented to go well here. He’s been prominent in early markets and should shorten further as the week goes on. Whether he completes a hat-trick of Red Rums or not, there will always be questions about how lenient the weights have been, but I expect him to be competitive once more.
LENNON GROVE (Goffs Nickel Coin Mares’ NH Flat Race, 5:15)
With no handicap to worry about, Gavin Cromwell’s five-year-old appeals for the mares’ bumper. She has a point-to-point success and four runs in bumpers, including a win at Thurles in December and a notable third in a Listed mares’ bumper at Sandown in March. At Sandown she was held up at the rear before making strong late headway on what appeared to be the favoured near side.
Now with black type secured, connections may ride her more positively and she could improve for a bit more prominence in the early stages. On breeding and form she looks open to further progress and, to my eye, is overpriced in the market.