BBOTD > Saturday April 5th

[Aidymac]

Aintree 2:50 - This years renewal of the Liverpool Hurdle looks a fascinating contest between At Fishers Cross who is probably the class horse in the field, Zarkandar who ran a belter in the World Hurdle and Whisper who looks the improver. The Rebecca Curtis trained At Fishers Cross ran a fine race when he was 3rd in the World Hurdle behind More Of That but he did not seem to stay that well and he looks vulnerable to a couple of these if he does not bring his A-game. He won the Sefton Hurdle here at Aintree last year beating Just A Par by 8 lengths but he is yet to recapture his 2013 form in this campaign. He is currently best priced 13/8 with William Hill and I think there is better value to be found in the race myself. The horse I like at the prices is the Nicky Henderson trained Whisper and I am very surprised to see 8/1 available with Paddy Power for this horse as I had him down as a 4/1 chance on my tissue. He is the youngest horse in the field at 6 years of age and he ran a belter at Cheltenham a few weeks ago when he won the Coral Cup under Nico De Boinville. He stayed on really well at the finish that day going up a hill so you would have to think he will get this trip on a flat course like Aintree. He might not have the staying power that At Fishers Cross has but he does have plenty of speed in his armoury and with Barry Geraghty taking over in the saddle he is too big a price not to back. Zarkandar came from a long way back to finish 4th in the World Hurdle last time out and has to have a chance but his price is of no interest to me. Melodic Rendezvous is a classy horse than ran in the Champion Hurdle last time out but the ground doesn't seem to be soft enough for him and he is stepping up 1 mile in trip so there is enough to swerve him. The Willie Mullins trained Thousand Stars looks an interesting contender and he has placed on all three runs at Aintree in the past. He finished 3rd to Zarkandar in the Aintree Hurdle last year and he should get the trip. I have had a two point win on Whisper here though who looks the big improver in the field and he should be able to go very close. Whisper WIN @ 8/1 Paddy Power - Also Get a £250 Free Bet!

[cpo]

Re: BBOTD > Saturday April 5th 4.15 Aintree - Raz De Maree EW @ 66/1 William Hill I have promised myself I am not going to go crazy in the Grand National this year as I always back several horses in the race and never find the winner! This year I am pinning my hopes on one horse and that horse is Raz De Maree. At the moment he is available at 66/1 and I don’t really expect that to change too much come Saturday. The master trainer Dessie Hughes trains him and this race has undoubtedly been on his radar for some time having come so close with Black Apalachai. He unseated at the 2^nd Bechers when travelling well in front in 2009 and finished 2^nd in the race to Don’t Push It the following year. He hasn’t been as close as that since then but managed to get a decent run out of Rare Bob last year to finish 5^th. I am hoping the Grand National this year has been the master plan for this horse after winning back-to-back chases back in 2012. On only his 5^th start over fences he took the Munster National and he followed that with another win in the Paddy Power Cork Grand National. He may have been fortuitous that day as Outlaw Pete ran out at the last fence when just in front but I think Raz De Maree may have got up. Dessie Hughes has described this horse as an out an out stayer so he should be well suited stepping up in trip. He was off the track for a year after winning at Cork, which is a slight worry because since returning to the track he hasn’t been running well. He was pulled up at Navan, finished 12^th of 18 at Punchestown, was pulled up at Naas and then finished 3^rd of 5 at Down Royal on his final prep race for this. There was a lot more encouragement from his latest run in the first time blinkers and that will have hopefully put him spot on for this. I think ideally he would prefer more rain but he does have some form on better ground earlier in his career. I get the feeling the easing of the course has brought this into even more of a stamina test and it will be tough for those carrying big weights as the fences aren’t feared as much now and can be attacked. Last year was the first time since 2009 that a horse carrying less than 11 stone won the race so I am happy with Raz De Maree carrying just 10-3. Other than that he does fit plenty of the top trends for the Grand National and I feel he has a good chance of at least making the places.