Matt Brocklebank got the Grand National Festival off to a fine start with a 17/2 winner and 28/1 each-way second - don't miss his three selections for today.
Value Bet Grand National Festival tips: Friday April 8
1pt win Fils D’Oudairies in 1.45 Aintree at 12/1 (William Hill, BoyleSports)
1pt win Suprise Package in 2.20 Aintree at 12/1 (bet365)
1pt e.w. Francky Du Berlais in 4.05 Aintree at 30/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6)
Element of Suprise...
Constitutional Hill’s connections are wisely sitting tight over a final decision regarding whether or not to take on Honeysuckle at Punchestown, and surely Jonbon’s performance in Friday’s Betway Top Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree will at least play a small part in making up their minds.
Jonbon – slammed 22 lengths by the Tolworth winner in the Sky Bet Supreme – now finds himself a very skinny price to provide his stable with a sixth victory in this contest and has very solid claims, though it’s tempting to suggest he also doesn’t look wildly progressive.
Nicky Henderson stablemate First Street seems to be going the right way and he’s now officially rated the equal of Jonbon on official figures, but anyone keen to side with the supposed Seven Barrows second-string has to consider SUPRISE PACKAGE at the prices.
Peter Fahey’s horse ended up four places behind First Street when sixth in the County Hurdle last month but, after travelling sweetly, looked to have that horse’s measure between the final two flights of hurdles.
Whether it was the stiff climb to the line or the really quick turnaround, having won Sandown’s Imperial Cup the previous Saturday, that took its toll on Surprise Package on the run-in we’ll never know, but it was another excellent effort from the six-year-old, who has taken his form to new levels this spring.
Fahey pulled off a similarly remarkable feat when winning this Grade One with his County hero Belfast Banter last spring, and given he’s a couple of pounds better off with First Street from Cheltenham, Suprise Package looks the value call.
Henderson's big handicap hope
Despite the fact he’s yet to win the big one itself, Henderson has tasted loads of success at Aintree’s Grand National Festival with all kinds of horses but a lot of them he’s deliberately kept fresh by not having a hard race at Cheltenham, and FILS D’OUDAIRIES looks a typical contender to follow that route.
The trainer has won Friday’s opening 20 Years Together, Alder Hey & Aintree Handicap Hurdle three times in the last decade, Minella Forfitness (2013) and Theinval (2015) skipping the Festival before winning here, and 2017 scorer Rather Be clearly still a fresh animal having unseated rider very early on in that year’s Martin Pipe.
Fils D’Oudairies was left in the Coral Cup until quite a late stage but no doubt Henderson was pleased the horse didn’t run on day two at Cheltenham when the skies opened and turned the track into a desperate state.
The seven-year-old was a heavy-ground winner for David Cottin and also showed he handles tough going during his time with Joseph O’Brien in Ireland, but not many of Henderson's love a bog and this week’s conditions look perfect for a horse who he remains totally unexposed after a lovely debut for the yard when second at Ascot in January.
The handicapper has nudged him up a couple of pounds since then and it’s not like the form has worked out brilliantly since, but I won’t be holding their Coral Cup efforts against winner Unexpected Party and Ascot third Garry Clermont, the latter of whom reopposes here, given how that race panned out.
Fils D’Oudairies had a higher Irish rating than his current BHA 140 when running in top-class novice events in Ireland last season and he’s now 5lb lower than when falling at the last in last year’s Festival Plate so he’s got bags of potential off this mark as a hurdler and seems likely to be primed to the minute for this particular contest.
Fun time Francky
The other one to have on side on Friday is FRANCKY DU BERLAIS in the Randox Topham Handicap Chase for one of the most under-rated target trainers in the jumping game, Peter Bowen.
Francky Du Berlais became Bowen’s seventh career winner of the Summer Plate when striking gold at Market Rasen last July, and it’s not hard to image the handler has had April 8 circled in the diary for this horse ever since given the yard has also won four Tophams over the years, including three times on the spin with the same horse (Always Waining – 2010, 2011 and 2012).
If that happens to be the case then he’s done an exceptional job as not only has Bowen got Francky Du Berlais especially well treated off a 2lb lower mark than for that last win, but he also managed to squeeze in a National Course sighter when a respectable eighth to stablemate Mac Tottie in the Grand Sefton here in November.
The selection jumped superbly that day, barely missing a beat at his fences, which always bodes well for a return to the venue, and he’ll have been nicely freshened up during a 102-day break since we last saw him in unsuitably testing conditions at Chepstow over Christmas.
Mac Tottie is back for more too and not exactly out of it given they've both crept in on but Francky Du Berlais is 10lb better off than in the Grand Sefton and this might be more his time of year.
Published at 1515 BST on 07/04/22
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