Ed Quigley has a long-term look with his Antepost Armchair column to begin the week, while Fridays are all about the biggest weekend action, covered in Ed’s Weekend Watch column.
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Ed Quigley Aintree Tips - Saturday, April 13
Ed is back with his selections for Day Three of the 2024 Grand National Festival at Aintree.
1:20pm Aintree - Johnnywho (Each-Way)
JOHNNYWHO hasn’t quite kicked on from the potential he displayed, but by the same token, he has been set some pretty stiff tasks at Grade 1 level, and this looks much more suitable.
The form of his Challow Hurdle fourth looks pretty solid, especially when you consider his proximity to The Jukebox Man and what he managed to achieve when losing on the line in the Albert Bartlett.
Obviously, Johnnywho was in that race too, but was far too keen on bottomless ground when getting no cover on his first attempt at three miles, and ultimately weakened out of contention.
His pedigree is all about stamina, and delving into the Handicap ranks off 136, he has the potential to be leniently treated. Jonjo O’Neill is in the saddle for his father, and a big run is expected.
1:55pm Aintree - Esprit Du Potier (Each-Way)
It is fascinating that connections opt to roll the dice in a top-level contest with ESPRIT DU POTIER.
The logical thing to do would be to try and exploit a mark of 127, but they clearly have ambitious plans with this unexposed five-year-old.
Lucinda Russell’s charge enjoys cut in the ground and arrives on the back of a facile success at Newcastle when coming home hard-held by 26 lengths.
I was particularly impressed by his jumping that day. He appeared not to stay three miles in the River Don on his penultimate start when he was too keen, so this trip on a flat track looks like his bag.
The stable have a history of causing upsets at this meeting and I wouldn’t be surprised if this individual got involved at a big price.
2:30pm Aintree - Crebilly
CREBILLY steps up to 3m here and can land the spoils off a mark of 143.
He has some smart form this season, but his jumping has often let him down. However, there are signs that everything has started to click in the fencing department, as he improved when winning at Exeter, and then he ran a stormer in defeat when runner-up in The Plate at the Cheltenham, where once again he was much more fluent in the jumping department.
I think there should be even more to come now upped in trip for this encounter, and I still think he has the potential to be well ahead of his mark with his stamina drawn out, and his jumping now much slicker.
3:05pm Aintree - Monkfish (Each-Way)
I think this looks incredibly wide-open, and with a race full of exposed individuals, he may pay to side with the classy MONKFISH.
His career has been plagued by injuries, but he is a multiple Grade 1 winner, and on his day he is top-drawer. He is lightly raced for his age, and trip and ground should be fine for him.
In hindsight, it was too much expected of him when thrust into the Gold Cup last time out, and he is swimming in relatively calmer waters here.
Paul Townend takes the ride on the Willie Mullins-trained individual, and they are the each-way play in a race where you could make a case for five or six of these.
4:00pm Aintree - The Grand National
Grand National 1-2-3-4
1) Minella Indo
2) Capodanno
3) Latenightpass
4) Galia Des Liteaux
Ed’s Antepost Selections:
Minella Indo @ 20/1 (Each-Way), Grand National (Tipped 09/04/24)
Capodanno @ 33/1 (Each-Way), Grand National (Tipped 09/04/24)
Latenightpass @ 33/1 (Each-Way), Grand National (Tipped 02/04/24)
Firefox @ 14/1 - Arkle Challenge Trophy, Cheltenham Festival (Tipped 14/03/24)
Monty’s Star @ 20/1, Cheltenham Gold Cup Cheltenham Festival (Tipped 14/03/24)
* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
About Ed Quigley
Ed Quigley grew up just outside Cheltenham & spent over a decade with the Racing Post, where he was best known for his Longshot Column, RPTV and as a weekly columnist in the Racing & Football Outlook.
Now a Freelance Broadcaster and Journalist, he is a regular on Sky Sports Racing and Ladbrokes TV, amongst other things.
He will contribute his insight to Freebets.com and, of course, will be the go-to guy for all things Cheltenham Festival-related!
We have an Antepost Armchair article from Ed every Tuesday looking at the bigger picture and long-term plans for many horses. He also brings us his Weekend Watch on Friday, looking at the feast of action taking place over the weekend.
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