The Aintree Hurdle

Elsewhere on the blog you can find my preview of the Betfred Bowl on the first day of the Aintree festival and here I will preview another cracking race on the opening day of the Grand National Meeting; the Doom Bar Aintree Hurdle. This Grade 1 hurdle is run over a distance of 2 miles 4 furlong offering a race which doesn't actually feature on the Cheltenham roster making this a fascinating clash and this year's renewal is no different. You see horses who have run in the Champion Hurdle having a go at a slightly longer trip, but on a flatter track, competing against horses who may have had a go at the World Hurdle or perhaps even a handicap at the festival bringing together all sorts of different form lines. This year we even have failed chasers coming back over timber!

Willie Mullin's crack hurdling mare Annie Power is one of those who looks set to step back down in distance here after going over the 3 mile World Hurdle trip at Cheltenham and while she looked like she stayed that trip well on previous form you must fancy the step back down in trip to be in her favour. She has won over this trip and shorter this season, thrashing last year's winner Zarkandar on a couple of occasions already this year and comes into this race with a huge chance. Unfortunately regular pilot Ruby Walsh won't be on board this time having suffered a nasty injury at Cheltenham but I doubt Willie will be short of options as he looks for a temporary pilot for this exciting young mare. However she certainly won't have things all her own way as an equally exciting horse The New One makes the step up in trip from the 2 miles of the Champion Hurdle. Nigel Twiston-Davies charge did appear to be the hard luck story of that race as the ill fated Our Conor fell in front of him at the third hurdle in that race, hampering The New One badly, and the way The New One was staying on at the finish a) made it look like he would have gone really close to winning without that interference and b) made it look like an extra 4 furlongs could be well within his stamina range. 

Grumeti, Hurricane Fly (although he will probably miss this in favour of Punchestown), Melodic Rendezvous and Ptit Zig all also contested the Champion Hurdle and will be joined here by Ex-Champion Hurdler Rock on Ruby who returns to hurdles after a failed attempt at a chasing career and has finished 3rd in this race before, as does Nicky Henderson's Grandouet after contesting the Arkle chase at Prestbury Park. Whisper, Rule the World and Diakali all also ran at Cheltenham, leaving Irish Saint as the only runner in the field who didn't actually run at the Cheltenham festival in March.

My fancy for this race is Annie Power, although it will be a really exciting battle with The New One and one I am really looking forward to seeing. The New One finished 2nd to Zarkandar in this race last year and on that formline Annie Power should have the beating of him as she has beaten that horse twice this season. Annie gets a 7lbs in weight from TNO in this race, a huge amount and an absolute gift. Annie Power has won over this trip already this season as well has trips below and above this so looks to be tactically versatile, with both the stamina for a truly run race and also the speed to quicken off a slower pace. It is unfortunate that Ruby can't take the ride but Paul Townend will have ridden work on her more times that you've had hot dinners and I presume he will take the ride here. He will know this horse inside out and is an extremely capable pair of hands so I'm not too worried about the jockey change. Annie Power was top rated by Timeform on their weight adjusted ratings for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham before she was taken out of the race and will surely be top rated here. I think the mare will win this race, with The New One filling 2nd place again as he did in 2013. Melodic Rendezvous will again give his running and is taken to fill 3rd place.

1-Annie Power

2-The New One

3-Melodic Rendezvous