Horse Racing Tips: Grand National meeting to start in style

It’s the opening day of the Grand National meeting at Aintree and we have a belting card to kick off the three-day bonanza. 

Our expert, Clive Gildon, has his eye on three wagers at Aintree on Thursday, with two Grade 1 fancies supported by a rapidly improving handicapper in the Red Rum.

13:45 Aintree - Croke Park @ 4/1

It is easy enough to make a case for most of the horses in the Manifesto Novices’ Chase, but there is a sense that Croke Park is being underestimated for Gordon Elliott.

Chasing has gone swimmingly for Croke Park, who disappointed his connections over hurdles the previous campaign.

He’s a two-time Grade 1-winning novice chaser who has already beaten the Ryanair Chase runner-up Heart Wood and split Ballyburn and Impaire Et Passe (shorter in the betting here) at the Dublin Racing Festival.

The DRF is usually quiet enough for Elliott, who likes to make hay at the start of the season before keeping his horses back with the spring festivals in mind.

Croke Park missed a dust-up at Cheltenham so comes here fresh and this tough, solid jumper won’t be far away.

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14:55 Aintree - Embassy Gardens @ 10/1

The Bowl is another fascinating race to assess as cases can be made for just about every runner.

Second-season chasers Grey Dawning and Spillane’s Tower look short enough in the early market to these eyes and perhaps it’s worth turning to another similar type at juicier odds in Embassy Gardens for Willie Mullins.

Paul Townend’s decision to ride Embassy Gardens over Gaelic Warrior, one of the yard’s most discussed horses, is interesting, and the key to this horse appears to be freshness.

He gave the highly regarded Monty’s Star 6lb and a good beating on his comeback at Tramore on New Year’s Day, and while below that form next time at the DRF, he won’t face anything of the calibre of Fact To File, Galopins Des Champs or Inothewayurthinkin on Thursday.

He’s fresh from a 61-day break and is a strong stayer at the trip. Improvement is required, but there is a bigger performance in him.

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16:40 Aintree - Rath Gaul Hill @ 11/1

The absence of Matata among the final declarations for the Red Rum Chase was excellent news for the connections of Rath Gaul Hill. He is only 3lb wrong now and can overcome that small piece of adversity under Sam Twiston-Davies.

It is difficult to know this progressive seven-year-old’s ceiling. He has picked up three decent two-mile handicap chases on the bounce and looked better than ever on his return at Newbury five weeks ago.

This strong traveller was value to triumph by much further than the neck-winning margin and is the type who just does enough anyway.

That makes him tricky for the handicapper to get to grips with and he arrives fresher than most for the time of year. He is ready for this step up in class.

This is an Extra Place race, meaning that Betfred will be paying 4 Places (1/5 Odds) instead of 3.

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