AINTREE FESTIVAL DAY 1 2025

The favourite Puturhandstogether is being backed like defeat is out of the question. I can see why he is being backed after winning impressively at Cheltenham but let’s not forget, he had the run of the race and was trouble free throughout. The Boodles Novice Handicap Hurdle is always a messy race and you need a lot of luck in the race which he got that day. Take nothing away from him, he won well and got the job done but this is a new level at Grade 1 and he offers no value at all the current 2/1.

Live Conti who is trained by Dan Skelton skipped Cheltenham and will be primed for this. He won a odds of 1/9 last time out in a very weak race. He looked good but it is a guessing game whether he is Grade 1 or not and his breeding is telling me he would probably want it a bit softer.

The horse who looks massive value is WENDROCK who we were on at the Cheltenham Festival when placing in the Boodles Handicap Hurdle. Anyone who enjoys going back and watching replays, go and watch the race back. He was at the back of the field and wide, and had no luck in running. At the second last hurdle a horse fell in front of him and Jack Kennedy had to swerve. He must have been 15 lengths behind Puturhandstogether after jumping the 2nd last and the interference, but he motored on down to the last and flew up the hill, better than anything, going down by 7 lengths. WENDROCK even bunny hopped the last hurdle yet still got up the hill. He was also carrying 11st 12lb and gave today’s favourite 6lb in weight. 

To come home 6th of 22 and have everything go wrong is a testament to his ability in my opinion.

Today WENDROCK meets the favourite on 6lb better terms and we have 13 runners and should not be as messy a race. 

Our selection was a good winner at Leopardstown over the Christmas period when beating Galileo Dame on good ground. He then went for a Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival and actually came to the last in front, before making a mistake at the last and going down the field. 

I just think if this horse can put it all together, gets a bit of luck in running, gets his jumping going, he is a decent horse who could get involved here.

Sam Ewing takes the ride and he was on board when winning at Leopardstown over the Christmas period.

Plenty of value on offer and I would not at all be surprised to see him go close. E/W.

 

You won’t see many Adonis Hurdle winners who come there next race, which are as big as 14/1. Here we have MAMBONUMBERFIVE who is surely way too big a price after winning a Grade 2 last time out.

Trained by Ben Pauling and he has been targeted at this very race, unlike a few others who went to Cheltenham in March. There is a lot to be said about horses who skip Cheltenham and come to Aintree as they have not peaked, whereas those who went to Cheltenham 3 weeks, probably peaked unless they got the training wrong and they come on for the run.

MAMBONUMBERFIVE was poor on his debut when pulled up at Cheltenham in January but he made up for that a month later, with an easy success at Kempton. I say easy, he had to work, but he travelled lovely through the race and jumped very well. 

He is a horse who can only keep on improving with the more racing he gets. He is a big horse who is around 17 hands, a chaser in the making but I don’t think he is done over hurdles just yet.

Even last time out, he didn’t jump great over the first 3 hurdles but the penny suddenly dropped over the final 4 hurdles and when that happens, you know the horse was learning on the job. 

6 weeks on from his win and I am sure he will continue the upward curve.

He is too big a price to ignore and with Ben Jones on board, he has a jockey who has been riding out of his skin this season. E/W.

 

 

We have 2 selections in this race.

 

Plenty of pace in this race and I expect Sans Bruit to make the running, exactly as he did last year when winning this race.

 

That is going to set the race up perfectly for MY MATE MOZZIE. He is a strong travelling horse and the faster they go it really is the better. The faster the ground the better. With the temperatures high all day and this race is at 4:40pm, it should dry out a lot throughout the day. 

We were on MY MATE MOZZIE at the Cheltenham Festival and secured a big price at 14/1, with him going off 13/2. The ground was good to soft that day, probably a little softer than he wanted whereas today I think the ground will be much faster. 

He lines up on the same handicap mark as at Cheltenham when coming home 4th of 20. He travelled strongly through the race but just couldn’t reel in the leaders and up the hill. 

Aintree is a much flatter track than Cheltenham so it should suit much better. At Cheltenham you jump the last and then it is up the hill, which catches horses out. 

At Aintree you jump the 2nd last and there is a long run to the last fence, this is where it is going to suit MY MATE MOZZIE, especially with Sans Bruit in the field who will surely repeat last year’s tactics. 

This is a top class horse who is well up to winning a race of this sort. He is trained by the genius Gavin Cromwell who as we all know trained the Gold Cup winner.

I just know they have been lining MY MATE MOZZIE up for a big handicap and although it didn’t come off at Cheltenham, they get a 2nd chance here. 

When the going has been ‘good’, MY MATE MOZZIE has only run once over fences, an absolute demolition job at Cheltenham in October 2023. 

I am expecting something similar here and I am quietly confident he can get his head in front. E/W.

 

I have to have a saver on SANS BRUIT in this race as I have been watching this horse all season and I have been watching them bring his handicap mark down. For months I have said to myself ‘being lined up for Aintree’, ‘being lined up for Aintree’, every time he has run and they have got his handicap mark down to 130, the same handicap mark as when he won this race last year, from the front. Last year Bryony Frost was in the saddle who gave him a terrific ride but this year Harry Cobden is in the saddle. Take nothing away from Bryony, a great jockey, but Harry Cobden is better. He is also great from the front and you only have to mention rides like Stage Star in the 2023 Paddy Power Gold Cup or Caldwell Potter at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, both top class front running rides. 

This horse has been trained all season by Paul Nicholls – to excel on one day only and it is for this very race. 

He started the season on 139 and somehow in a sort of Harry Skelton style, they have his mark down to 130 and nobody has batted an eyelid.

As I say, a bet lined up for many months by me and I just can’t leave SANS BRUIT out. E/W.

 

I may even have a sneaky reverse forecast as a small side bet.