Scottish Sun columnist and Racing TV analyst Ed Watson casts his eye over the northern challenge heading to Aintree, and considers their prospects of snaffling some of the prize money Willie Mullins, Paul Nicholls and current leader Dan Skelton have tooled up for in their three-way scrap for the trainers’ championship.
TIME LEADER (Randox Foxhunters’ Chase, 4.05 Thursday)
Who’s the trainer responsible for the shortest-priced northern horse running at Aintree this week?
Lucinda Russell is surely a fair first guess? No.
Must be Donald McCain then? Incorrect.
Really? How about Nicky Richards, or the double G duo of Greenall and Guerriero? Wrong, and wrong again.
The answer is Hannah Roach. A recently turned 22-year-old former stable apprentice, who boasts an impressive 43 per cent strike-rate with runners in hunter chases since taking over the licence from her Cheshire-based mentor Joe O’Shea late last year.
Her January Hereford winner Time Leader heads for Thursday’s Foxhunters’ Chase as a general 4/1 shot - a shorter price now than Grand National favourite Corach Rambler - after outrunning his 50/1 odds to be third in last month’s Cheltenham version to Scottish National-bound Sine Nomine and Its On The Line.
Roach’s ten-year-old has previous form over these fences, too. Time Leader finished a close fifth to Famous Clermont 12 months ago when still under the care of the charismatic O’Shea - a former greyhound trainer who caused a major surprise in this race with 66/1 outsider Cousin Pascal in 2021.
IROKO (Mildmay Novices' Chase, 1.45 Friday)
When Gesskille powered through the mud in December’s Grand Sefton, giving Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero their most lucrative success so far as joint-trainers, their National dream was alive and kicking.
Then fate dealt them the cruellest of hands as Gesskille - who’d already proven his liking for Aintree’s fences with second-place efforts in the previous year’s Grand Sefton and Becher Chase - succumbed to a life-ending injury on Cheltenham’s cross-country course only five weeks later.
At that time, the Cheshire chums were already trying to come to terms with having Iroko ruled out for the season with injury following a sparkling chase debut win at Warwick. Yet from those dark days of midwinter, green shoots are finally emerging at Stockton Hall Farm.
Iroko made a quicker-than-expected recovery from his setback to line up in last month’s Turners at Cheltenham, where the six-year-old fared as well as could have been expected on just his second start over fences following a far-from-ideal preparation.
While ultimately unable to lay a glove on the battle-hardened duo of Grey Dawning and Ginny’s Destiny there, last season’s Martin Pipe Hurdle hero ran on encouragingly late in the piece to suggest he’d come on plenty for the experience and for going back up in trip.
Iroko was third to Apple Away in last season’s Sefton on his only previous stab at 3m, having looked all stamina when grinding out an unlikely victory in the Festival finale before that. At home on soft ground, this week's wet forecast is further fuelling hope of a deserved breakthrough Grade 1 success for his upwardly-mobile handlers.
EMPIRE STEEL (Randox Topham Handicap Chase, 4.05 Friday)
The prospect of testing ground is tipping Berwickshire trainer Sandy Thomson towards a tilt at the Topham, despite it looking ever more likely that his bold-jumping ten-year-old will sneak into the National at the foot of the weights. That’s maybe just as well, given he has yet to win over further than 3m and appeared to run out of gas in a good-ground Scottish National last spring.
Empire Steel returned from a mid-season wind operation with a polished display of fencing and front-running to win over the Topham trip of 2m5f at Kelso in February. Although he beat effectively only one other finisher there (Nells Son, who won next time out), Thomson’s grey posted a Timeform figure only 1lb inferior to his defeat of Le Milos in last season’s Premier Chase. Fancied to outrun his general 25/1 odds with underfoot conditions to suit.
MYRETOWN (Sefton Novices’ Hurdle, 4.40 Friday)
Lucinda Russell has bigger fish to fry this week. She may also feel redemption is on the menu with Ahoy Senor in Thursday’s Bowl after the enigmatic chaser was only denied a third consecutive Grade 1 victory at this meeting by the late surge of Shiskin 12 months ago, when regular rider Derek Fox, who knows his quirks and foibles so well, was missing from the saddle for the first time.
Like Ahoy Senor, Myretown carries the same colours of owners Carron and Bruce Wymer. Like Ahoy Senor, this well-regarded point-to-point recruit steps up to Grade 1 level with plenty to find on the book, having won only a maiden hurdle to date.
Yet Russell’s modus operandi of sourcing future staying chasers means her runners are not to be overlooked when they move out in trip to 3m for the first time. Especially in this race, which Perthshire-based Russell has won twice in the last three years with big-priced runners - Ahoy Senor, who at 66/1 was the rank outsider of the entire field, in 2021, and then 16/1 rag Apple Away (who’s set to revert to hurdles on Saturday) last year.
It’s asking a lot for lightning to strike for a third time with Myretown, who’s currently a top-priced 33/1. Yet with Albert Bartlett 1-2-3 Stellar Story, The Jukebox Man and Dancing City all having hard races on heavy ground at Cheltenham, stranger things have happened a few weeks on from the Festival at Aintree.
TWOSHOTSOFTEQUILA (Freebooter Handicap Chase, 2.30 Saturday)
Rebecca Menzies knows how to bring a handicap chaser to the boil for the days that matter. You don’t spend your apprenticeship working your way up to No2 to a shrewd cookie like the late, great Ferdy Murphy without becoming something of a chip off the old block.
Indeed, County Durham-based Menzies served a timely reminder of her talents as a target trainer by scooping two of the chase finals at Sunday’s Go North Series climax at Carlisle. Twoshotsoftequila was qualified for both of those respective races in Cumbria, but has had his sights raised for this £100,000 Premier Handicap on the back of smooth wins at Catterick and then under a penalty at Newcastle.
Further progress will be required going up the grades now, but this seven-year-old has earned his crack at something better, although he also holds entries in both the Scottish National and bet365 Gold Cup.
CORACH RAMBLER (Randox Grand National, 4.0 Saturday)
The 2023 National winner for Lucinda Russell and Derek Fox.
The 2024 National winner for Lucinda Russell and Derek Fox.
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