Barry Geraghty’s William Hill blog: Tripoli has pace to Fly past rivals

William Hill ambassador Barry Geraghty previews Day Two from Aintree, picking out his best bets in all seven races.

Aintree, Friday

HANDSTANDS missed Cheltenham, so he comes here fresh and has been trained for the Grade 1 Mildmay Novices’ Chase (1:45pm). His form has worked out well, with Jango Baie, who he narrowly beat in the Scilly Isles, going on to win the Arkle. I think the step up to three miles on nice ground should suit him well. Since his fall at Wincanton early on in the season he’s looked very progressive. Even his form over hurdles from last season is very strong – beating Jango Baie in the Sidney Banks – and, except for his disappointing run in the two-mile-five-furlong novice hurdle at Cheltenham, he’s always won when completing. It will be interesting to see how Caldwell Potter, who bounced back to form at Cheltenham last month, fares up in trip, but I’m happy to stick with Handstands.

There is a maximum field of 22 runners for the William Hill Handicap Hurdle (2:20pm) where the one I like is IMPOSE TOI. He ran a good race in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham and was probably just unlucky to run into one that day. He might have been competitive enough early in the home straight, but was never going to beat the winner. I’d say there’s still a bit more to come though. One for a bit of each-way value could be STEEL ALLY, who is so consistent and has some great form on flat tracks.

In the Grade 1 Top Novices’ (2:55pm), Supreme Novices’ third-place finisher Romeo Coolio heads the market. He ran a great race at Cheltenham, but he had a tough race there too. I think two miles around Aintree could just be sharp enough for him, whereas TRIPOLI FLYER showed a lot of pace to win well at Kempton last time. That was a smart performance and he has some great form on flat tracks having been a good winner at Musselburgh before that. There’s a bit of room for improvement in his jumping but I think Aintree could really suit him, while I’m not convinced it will play to Romeo Coolio’s strengths.

It’s very hard to find something to beat JONBON in the Grade 1 Melling Chase (3:30pm). El Fabiolo has been very disappointing this season and I think it’s hard to make a case for him on the back of two poor runs. Protektorat was 20 lengths behind Fact To File in the Ryanair, so he might even have regressed. I think two-and-a-half miles around Aintree on good ground is absolutely ideal for Jonbon and I’d be very sweet on him. It will be interesting to see how Matata is played as he can be a frontrunner, but this is his first time stepping up in trip. He could very easily follow them around and maybe even pick up the pieces to snatch second at a big price.

Next up is the Topham (4:05pm) and another chance to see horses over the National fences before the race itself. JAMES DU BERLAIS was second in the race last year when only caught in the dying strides by Arizona Cardinal. He jumps great and loves it around here. He is only one-pound higher coming into the race this year and a reproduction of his run 12 months ago would make him the one to beat.

JACOB’S LADDER was a horse I liked in the run up to Cheltenham, but he comes here fresh after missing the Festival. He won well at Naas last time over two-and-a-half miles on heavy ground in the style of a relentless galloper. The Sefton (4:40pm) trip takes a lot of getting because you have a long straight at Aintree and they tend to get racing early, so it can be attritional. I think that will suit this horse as he looks a proper stayer.

I was looking for a handicapper that might be on the up in the finale, the Conditional Jockey’s Handicap Hurdle (5:15pm), and I thought JACK HYDE might be of interest at a fancy price. He’s put together two very impressive wins on his last two starts. Last time he won by 12 lengths when stepped up to two-and-a-half miles at Southwell, but I don’t think he necessarily needed that trip. He shows plenty of pace and jumps well. He gets in near the bottom of the handicap here and I thought he was of interest each-way in a very open race.