Our experts tackle some of the quality racing coming up at Aintree and Doncaster.
How do you see Friday’s Haldon Gold Cup?
David Ord: I can see why Mirabad is favourite but I’m not sure I’d want to be getting involved at around 11/8. I fear STENCIL has long been a cliff horse of mine and I just wonder if this might be his day. He bombed out when the subject of a proper plunge in the Red Rum here in the spring but the feeling is that two miles at Aintree should be absolutely ideal for him. He might not be the most resolute, but his best form is all in small fields and if there is to be a small surprise on Friday, I think he’ll be the one to spring it.
Nic Doggett: Quite a bit differently to if it was at Exeter – they're two very opposing tracks – but the favourite Mirabad has won at both, so I can't see the change in venue being an issue for him. However, I think he faces an uphill task trying to give RUBAUD 11lb given what we know about Paul Nicholls' talented front-runner. He loves a flat track, has a great record at this time of year, and should be able to set his own fractions if mastering JPR One early (and assuming Mirabad sticks with hold-up tactics). Not that far behind Mirabad on their warmup run over hurdles at Carlisle recently (when giving him 6lb), he looks the best bet on the card.
John Ingles: Mirabad will be a short price back over fences for the first time since his shock win in the Maghull over course and distance in the spring having shaped well on his recent reappearance over hurdles at Carlisle. With Rubaud to take them along, Mirabad will be able to sit off the pace again, but JPR ONE is the class act in the race and a former winner of this race at Exeter. With usual rider Brendan Powell breaking his arm this week, Jonjo O’Neill junior takes over, and he should go close on a horse who travels and jumps well and has returned in winning form at Cheltenham.
Will any horse lay down a significant Champion Hurdle marker at Aintree on Saturday?
David Ord: Providing all stays well with Lossiemouth that’s a stretch but the race to be 'best of British' is eminently more winnable. Alexei was fourth in the Unibet Champion Hurdle last season and is one of the best around on these shores but if we have a star in the race then it’s MYDADDYPADDY. He was beaten here in the Formby on Boxing Day, when the removal of the flights down the home straight was completely against him, and again in the Sky Bet Supreme. But he ran a mighty race there to finish third behind Old Park Star and Sober Glory and would surely have been second but for suffering interference on the run-in. He’s only a handful of races into this career, is five rising six years old and has plenty of scope for improvement. If he can beat Alexei soundly on Saturday that opens up the British Grade One two-mile hurdles to him, especially if stablemate The New Lion does go out in trip.
Nic Doggett: I think what ALEXEI achieved as a five/six-year-old last season was quite impressive really. Okay, it might not be a vintage era for the two-mile division, but he was thrown in at the deep end from handicaps and coped admirably. The penalty here makes life tough, but if he can master Mydaddypaddy and Mange Tout then that will be a statement of intent for the Champion Hurdle. At 25s for the March race, his price could shift more than that of second favourite Mydaddypaddy unless the Skelton runner does something a bit special.
John Ingles: Alexei ran well in last season’s Champion Hurdle judged against his previous efforts, though that was still only good enough for fourth, and ran to a similar level when third here in the Aintree Hurdle. He’d have to up his game a bit, therefore, but if there is one who could stake more of a claim, it’s MYDADDYPADDY who travels well and is a largely fluent jumper. That was a smart effort to finish third in the Supreme on his final start last season after getting hampered and this could provide a perfect start to his campaign.
What other horse is on your radar over the two-days in Liverpool?
David Ord: I like MONTREGARD in the BetMGM Handicap Chase on Friday. He had a good campaign last season, winning three times and signed off with a career-best effort when third in an ultra-competitive Punchestown handicap in the spring. He’s a pound higher but is only seven, open to more improvement and offers a bit of value in against Here Comes Georgie who is turned out quickly after his Cheltenham win and is up 7lb.
Nic Doggett: I'm very interesting to see how AVIDE gets on in the opening race (12:40) on Friday. A €220,000 purchase at the Arqana Deauville Summer horses in training sales in July, the four-year-old son of Dubawi was last seen finishing third for the Fabre team in a Chantilly handicap from a mark of 98 and is from a very successful French family that includes the Sovereign Stakes winner Plumatic. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he's the first of the family to go hurdling, but he clearly has plenty of class and he's pitched into a hot little race for this first start over timber so has caught my eye.
John Ingles: STRIDE ON showed promise in a light campaign over hurdles for the Russell/Scudamore yard last season, winning impressively at Ayr and then bumping into a very promising Gordon Elliott horse at the same track on his final start. He’s a chaser on looks though, and it will be interesting to see what he can do stepping up to three miles plus on his debut over fences in the novice handicap on Friday (13:15).
What’s the bet in the November Handicap?
David Ord: I like ERNST BLOFELD at the prices. The ground is a question mark against him, but he did run well on his only previous run on a surface slower than good when fifth in a deep race at the Sky Bet Ebor Festival. He comes here right at the top of this game and off the back of a career-best effort when second to Wardlaw at Newcastle. He’s not the easiest to win with but is handicapped to have his say.
Nic Doggett: NIGHT BREEZE each-way at 25s. Rossa Ryan was booked for him earlier in the week and the jockey knows him well, having ridden him to win at Ffos Las back in July 2024 and then again at Epsom in April. The Ian Williams-trained six-year-old is exposed, but his form has been rock solid all year (especially since the tongue-tie went on), and the step back up to this trip will suit especially with the ground set to be much less testing than in recent years. Williams won the race in 2017 with Saunter Boy, and his owners Midtech have done well in big handicaps, so I'm expecting a good run now freshened up by a two-month break.
John Ingles: It looks as though Ralph Beckett has LORD MELBOURNE primed for another big run. He won this in 2024 and didn’t run badly when sixth off a much higher mark last year after missing most of the campaign. However, he has slipped back down the weights again now (6 lb lower than last year) but comes into it on the back of a close third at York last month over a mile and a quarter. Conditions maybe won’t be as testing this year, but soft ground is fine for him and Harry Vigors will be taking a handy 5 lb off his back.
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