Spread over three exciting days, the Randox Grand National Festival today gets underway, and 150,000 spectators are expected to attend the event this year. One of the most anticipated races on opening day is The Betway Aintree Hurdle (Grade 1). Set for the off at 3.30 pm, the race doesn’t feature Honeysuckle, but with Zanahiyr and Epatante racing, there will be plenty of punter interest.
Brewin’upastorm
Olly Murphy’s nine-year-old took part in this race a year ago but found it hard to impose himself, finishing in a disappointing fifth place. The horse has had a wind operation earlier in the season and has won two races since. The horse looked to have the Relkeel Hurdle but fell at the last in the Grade 2 race. Currently priced at 7/1 to win this one.
Glory And Fortune
Despite being an outsider at 16/1, the horse has had a busy season and has steadily climbed up the rankings, racing at 130 at Plumpton to getting within ten lengths of Honeysuckle in a champion hurdle at Cheltenham, where he finished 5/10 while priced at 150/1. In February, he did win at Newbury, just doing enough to see off I Like To Move It by a shoulder at 20/1.
Guard Your Dreams
Owned by Graham And Alison Jelley and trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, Guard your Dreams last win was at Cheltenham in December, where he beat Song For Someone by half a length. In the three runs since, he’s finished 3/6, 2/5 and more recently placed in third at Fontwell at the end of February, priced at 25/1 here.
McFabulous
One of the two Paul Nicholls horses running in this race was due to have a warm-up race in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham but withdrew due to the unfavourable going. The horse raced in this race last year but finished well down the order. However, he has been rested in recent months, which means he is likely to be fresher than many in the race and could be a better punt than the 16/1 suggests.
Monmiral
The other Paul Nicholls horse in the race, Monmiral, is part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson and enjoyed a fantastic last year, unbeaten as a juvenile, winning at Exeter, Doncaster, Haydock and Aintree. However, the five-year-old has struggled in his last two, finishing 5/6 at Newcastle in November and 4/6 at Fontwell in February. He is priced at 17/2 for the win and 2/1 for the place.
Zanahiyr
Gordon Elliott’s five-year has enjoyed an excellent first season but has had formidable opposition, finishing behind Sharjah twice at Punchestow in November and Leopardstown in December. Also finishing behind Honeysuckle at Leopardstown in February and third behind him at Cheltenham last month. He is priced as joint-favourite at 4/5.
Epatante
The other favourite for this race is the JP McManus’ mare Epatante, the winner of the 2020 Champion Hurdle. The form is definitely with the eight-year-old, having five Grade One wins under her belt. Although she has had injury worries, she is starting to look at her best. The only question mark is the distance with the Aintree Hurdle run over 2m 4f, over her preferred 2m.
The Aintree Hurdle starts at 3:30 pm. The race will be shown live on ITV.
