Barry Geraghty’s William Hill blog: Impaire could sur-Passe all

William Hill ambassador Barry Geraghty looks ahead to the first day of Aintree’s Grand National meeting, picking out his best bets.

Aintree, Thursday

IL ETAIT TEMPS could just have the pace edge in the Manifesto Novices’ Chase (1:45pm), he ran a very good race in the Arkle and he’s been in very good form throughout the season. Aintree is a different test to Cheltenham, it’s easier for a stayer to find a rhythm around Cheltenham where you could find yourself racing closer to top gear over the same distance around Aintree. I think this will suit him stepping up from two to two-and-a-half miles. He could be the bit of value to oppose the top two in the market. Both Grey Dawning and Ginny’s Destiny opted for the Turners over two-and-a-half to stay clear of Fact To File at Cheltenham, and I feel it might not be their natural trip.

Then we have the 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle (2:20pm), where SIR GINO heads the market. He was a red-hot favourite for the Triumph and has been very impressive in everything he’s done so far, so you would like to think he would be the one to beat. Nicky Henderson’s horses have had a quiet time since Cheltenham but they’ve got back to winning ways at the start of April, so for what it’s worth he must be happy with Sir Gino for him to take his chance. It is a competitive race with Kalif Du Berlais and Kargese both in there. For Kargese its difficult to come back to over for Aintree after travelling to Cheltenham, it’s never easy.

The William Hill Bowl Chase (2:55pm) this year is a mighty race! GERRI COLOMBE ran as superb race when finishing second in the Gold Cup, it was a good step forward from his run at Leopardstown. He also did win at Aintree last season, so he has course form. For me Shishkin won a rather poor race at Newbury, but he probably would’ve gone on to win the King George if it wasn’t for unseating. You just don’t know which version of himself will show up, though. The ground was probably a bit too soft for Bravemansgame at Cheltenham and he could have the same issue here. Corbetts Cross is stepping up big time, after being very impressive in the National Hunt Chase. He was six lengths behind Grangeclare West over this distance at Leopardstown though, so you would think he may have a bit to find.

I like IMPAIRE ET PASSE in the very competitive William Hill Aintree Hurdle (3:30pm). Bob Olinger has obviously been trained for this race and kept fresh, but I think there’s value to be had in taking him on. I personally think they got it wrong with Impaire Et Passe – he ran a brilliant race when second in the Hatton’s Grace and Teahupoo went on to confirm that form in the Stayers’ Hurdle. That race at Fairyhouse was his first of the season, and he had a tough race. I don’t think he had fully recovered, when reappearing at Leopardstown 26 days later. Paul Townend dictated the pace then which I don’t think Impaire Et Passe enjoyed – he didn’t travel or jump. I think you can draw a line through his last two runs. We all thought he was going to be a superstar, and I still think he’s very, very good.

The Foxhunters’ (4:05pm) is very open with a big field, but it’s hard not to side with IT’S ON THE LINE. He stayed on again at Cheltenham, when only beaten less than a length. He has good form in the book, and I don’t think there is much opposition that jumps out on paper. A lot of the field are the older statesmen of the division, Annamix and Spyglass Hill are both 11-year-old’s now, while the McManus horse is only seven and he is on the way up. He does have to take to these fences, but if he does, he should go close.

Next is the Red Rum Handicap (4:40pm), and Unexpected Party is the obvious one having only been put up 8lbs for his Cheltenham win. However, the one I am going to go with here is HOMME PUBLIC, who is three from four and won well last time at Doncaster. He jumped a little left and made a mistake at Ascot in his only loss from his last four. The winner at Ascot, Persian Time, has gone on to win at Kempton after being unlucky at Cheltenham so the form looks strong too. Unexpected Party looks to be the one to beat as is still well-in, but the value could be with Homme Public.

Finally, we have the Mares’ Bumper (5:15pm), which is tough to say the least with lots of chances. The one I like is Paul Nicholls’ runner JUBILEE ALPHA. She won in Wincanton very impressively and the runner-up was five lengths behind Honky Tonk Highway at Sandown next time. Jubilee Alpha was a comfortable winner at Wincanton, so she definitely stands out with the prospect of plenty of improvement to come.