18 horses to keep an eye out for during April’s UK Horse Racing

February 4th, 2010

April is that the month when the turf Flat season starts to hit full stride and for many punters the fixture that lights the blue bit paper is that the Craven meeting at Newmarket in the middle of the month.

Before sampling the breezy delights of Newmarket’s Rowley Mile course, but, there’s the small matter of the ever-expanding Grand National meeting at Aintree that begins with a cracking card on April 6.

In recent years Aintree’s prestigious three-day meeting has begun to rival Cheltenham’s somewhat bloated four-day fixture for thrills and spills, and there’s very little doubt {that the} highlight of the Merseyside racing calendar offers three days of high-class racing culminating within the running of the world’s most famous race on the ultimate day.

As racecourses go, Cheltenham and Aintree are chalk and cheese: where the former is twisty and undulating with a punishing uphill finish, the latter is long and flat and primarily sharp in nature, and given the two contrasting course configurations it takes a good horse to win a race at the Cheltenham Competition and then do the identical at Aintree.

Precisely a year ago at Aintree that’s precisely what Fota Island managed to try and do when adding the John Smith’s Red Rum Handicap Chase to the Grand Annual Chase that he had won in such excellent fashion at Cheltenham simply over two and a 0.5 week’s previously.

Not surprisingly there can be plenty of horses from this year’s Grand Annual that will be seeking compensation on Merseyside as well as Andreas, an early casualty within the Grand Annual when a well backed favorite and Inexperienced Tango, who created sturdy late headway in the same race despite seeming unsuited to Cheltenham. Aintree’s flatter track should suit.

In the Betfair Bowl Chase on the gap day, Cheltenham additionally-rans boast a healthy record and Gold Cup failures Monkerhostin and Beef Or Salmon could rather be among those bidding to banish the blues of a poor Festival run, while the versatile Impek, a runner-up in the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, might compete and is already a winner over slightly shorter on this sharp course earlier within the season.

In the big juvenile event, the John Smith’s Anniversary four-Y-O Hurdle, many key players from Cheltenham’s Triumph Hurdle seem possible to figure as well as Honest Along, the Triumph Hurdle runner-up, who {has already} won a race over course and distance, together with Afsoun, who was underneath the weather within the Triumph, and rates a robust fancy.

On the second day - April 7 - the massive race is the John Smith’s Melling Chase, and since its inception in 1989 this race’s roll-decision of winners has featured the prime chasers in coaching, who have successfully stepped up in trip once excelling at their specialist distance of 2 miles.

Remittance Man, Viking Flagship, Katabatic, Martha’s Son and Moscow Flyer are simply a handful of past two-mile champions who have added this valuable prize once being topped two-mile champions with a victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Newmill, this year’s shock Queen Mother hero, won’t be running at Aintree however Kauto Star and Dempsey may line-up for this prize. The former, who was a warm favourite for the Queen Mother, fell early in that race bringing down the well supported Dempsey. If they need recovered from their tumbles, they should go close, while Irish raider and course winner Fota Island will be a possible contender too.

The distinctive Grand National fences come into play for the John Smith’s and Spar Topham Chase on the second day, and sound-jumping and well-seasoned campaigners do well in this hurly-burly contest, whereas within the John Smith’s Mildmay Chase it pays to look for a recent horse that hasn’t endured the rigours of running in Cheltenham’s Royal & SunAlliance Chase, a race that tends to spoil their probabilities at Aintree.

Grand National day options the massive race itself that stands alone as the key betting race of the year. The 2006 contest is dominated by Clan Royal, a runner-up in 2004 and last year’s easy winner, Hedgehunter. Since the course was modernised in the early nineties and also the fences made easier and therefore the landing sides raised, the stylish and better horses have return to fore and dominated the event. Indeed, the National currently has the planning of simply another long-distance steeplechase but one with masses of history attached.

All eyes can be upon the fillies within the Shadwell Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes on the second day of Newmarket’s Craven meeting on April 19, but sadly in recent years this race has supplied few serious pointers towards the one,000 Guineas, while any Classic clues could be on offer in the Craven Stakes for colts on April twenty, the meeting’s final day. In 2004 the Barry Hills-trained Haafhd became the first colt since Tirol in 1990 to complete the Craven-a pair of,000 Guineas double.

The seek for Classic pointers switches to Newbury on April twenty two when the Lane Finish Greenham Stakes takes place over 7f. In recent seasons Turtle Island, Celtic Swing and Victory Note have all landed Classics when scoring here and backers ought to pay this race plenty of respect within the colts’ Classic reckoning.

The Spring Cup Handicap at Newbury on April twenty two is another race value a second glance. Horses that have run well in the William Hill Lincoln throughout the previous month have an excellent record here, and any that return from Redcar following a distinguished showing in the primary massive Flat handicap can surely warrant close consideration.

At Ayr on the identical day there’s the Scottish Grand National to whet the appetite. One issue’s for certain which’s any horse that has run in the Aintree Grand National must be avoided as such runners have an appalling record within the Scottish equivalent.

In 2004 Northern-trained Ryalux recorded a common success and if the ground turns soft at the West of Scotland track masses of folks will be rooting for one more northern runner in Ossmoses, a strapping grey and stout stayer who all but landed the Midlands National over an analogous marathon go to vacation at Uttoxeter last month.

Twelve months ago trainer Paul Nicholls failed by a whisker to win this race with Cornish Rebel and the identical trainer’s lightly-raced Ladalko has been kept contemporary for this valuable prize. The Nicholls yard could conjointly run Desert Quest, the County Hurdle winner, in the Scottish Champion Hurdle while Monet’s Garden, a runner-up in the Arkle Trophy Chase, bids to land a 3-mile novices’ event at Ayr.

The curtain comes down on April’s busy and varied month with the mixed jumps and Flat card at Sandown on April 29. The Betfred Gold Cup is the jump season’s final huge handicap and fancied runners from the Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson stables should be noted. The latter almost landed this prize plus a valuable bonus a year ago with Juveigneur and he might well become a significant candidate again.

Paul Nicholls ought to additionally be the trainer to look at within the Betfred Celebration Chase, with either Kauto Star or Andreas, two of the stable’s crack team of 2-mile chasers, seemingly to land the honours. On the Flat the Betfred.com Mile Stakes is the highlight, and horses that ran well in Newmarket’s Earl of Sefton Stakes earlier in the month hold a sensible record in this Cluster 2 contest.

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