Free Horse Racing Tips for Aintree Grand National Festival

FRIDAY

Banker of the Day

JONBON - 3.30 Aintree

The 1-2-3 from this year's Ryanair again do battle but it's a notable absentee from the Cheltenham Festival JONBON who's selected to regain the winning thread having been undone by a rare jumping blip in the rearranged Clarence House on Trials Day in January.

Best outsider

ZEEBAND - 5.15 Aintree

It wouldn't be any great surprise were the Irish raiders to dominate with ZEEBAND spearheading the half-a-dozen challengers from across the pond. He has got his act together over hurdles in recent weeks and there could be even more to come from him given his exploits on the Flat a few years ago.

Multiple Choice: Lucky 15

What is a Lucky 15? This popular bet can be summed up as follows: 1 accumulator, 4 trebles, 6 double, 4 singles = 15 bets. An each-way Lucky 15 is therefore 30 bets, and you will get a return of some kind if only one horse places.

Giovinco - 13:45 Aintree

This is a meeting where Lucinda Russell always does well, quite often winning with horses overlooked in the market, and I think she may have another here with GIOVINCO, who is the outsider of the field for the Friday opener as I write this. That just looks plain wrong for a horse who was a very good third behind Fact To File in the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham last month, form which would have made him very hard to beat in the Ultima had he taken up his engagement there instead, and the eventual winner of that race, Chianti Classico, is a third of his price.

He brings proper Grade 1 form to the table with most of his rivals coming here on the back on handicap wins, albeit impressive ones, and this track should suit his style of racing more than Cheltenham (won here in November).

James Du Berlais - 4.05 Aintree

JAMES DU BERLAIS was banging heads with some of the best novices in the UK and Ireland last season and has been a model of consistency in big handicaps this campaign without getting his head in front, yet… He has a big weight to carry here but he is a class act on his day and, a slick jumper with a high cruising speed, he looks the ideal type for this race.

Ocastle Des Mottes - 2.20 Aintree

You can make excuses for both his runs since joining Willie Mullins and OCASTLE DES MOTTES has a cracking chance of making it third time lucky in the Double Green on Friday. He ran well in the Betfair Hurdle in the circumstances and not much went right at Cheltenham last time either where he was too keen after a messy start.

The hood goes on which we saw the yard use to good effect with Gaelic Warrior in the Arkle and if that can help him settle, he can prove to be well handicapped off a mark of 132.

Firefox - 2.55 Aintree

Mystical Power looks the one to beat here on his second in the Supreme but FIREFOX endured serious traffic problems in behind that day. The pair were side-by-side turning for home but Gordon Elliott’s inmate ran into a wall of horses just as Mystical Power made his move down the outside, and it’s to his credit that Firefox could pick up again to take third after being stopped in his run.

He should get a lot closer granted a clearer passage.

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