Jane Mangan

Jane Mangan’s William Hill blog: Aintree Grand National Festival Day Two best bets

1 hour ago

| BY News Team

William Hill ambassador Jane Mangan returns with her best bets on Day Two of the 2026 Aintree Grand National Festival.

Aintree, Friday

Let’s kick off with the Grade One William Hill Mildmay Novices’ Chase (2:20pm), which looks to lack a real star. With that in mind, I’m siding with Regent’s Stroll. He ran a solid race in the Jack Richards at the Cheltenham Festival and is a consistent type. I think this flat, speed-orientated track will play to his strengths; he should travel strongly into the straight and hopefully hold them all off. He’s the one for me.

My best bet on Friday comes in the Grade One Top Novices’ Hurdle (2:55pm), and that is Sober Glory. In my mind, he was the best horse in the Supreme. I expect him to make the running; hopefully, Ben Jones can hold on a little longer than he did at Cheltenham, and, provided a good round of jumping, he will be very hard to stop.

The Grade One Melling Chase (3:30pm) is next, and I like Heart Wood. He really impressed me in the Ryanair this season; he came off second best in the same race the year before but made no mistake this season. He’s still only an eight-year-old, and the drying ground and distance only enhance his chances. I think he will justify favouritism and be very hard to beat in the Melling.

In the Topham (4:05pm), I expect Gentleman De Mee to bounce back to form. He came here with a pretty poor profile last season when running on unsuitable ground and won the race off a mark of 155. He runs off a mark of 158 on Friday but has had a similar prep to last year, running on unsuitable ground; however, I think he can bounce back with a big run here.

The Sefton Novices’ Hurdle (4:40pm) looks to be one for Harry and Dan Skelton. They skipped the Cheltenham Festival with Dalston Lad; he’s a horse that stays very well, and I can only see the trip enhancing his chances. He saw off Stay Away Fay before taking the step up in graded company in his stride, and he looks to have a lot of potential at Grade One level. Coming here fresh, I think, could be the key to downing his rivals who ran at Cheltenham. Dalston Lad for me.

In the finale (5:15pm), Pourquoi Pas Papa comes here with a very high level of form. He finished second to the Albert Bartlett winner Johnny’s Jury at Exeter back in January, second to Manlaga at Haydock in February, and ran a great race in the Fred Winter when beaten by just six lengths by Saratoga. He got a one-pound rise in the handicap for that, but he’s very consistent. He can cap off the day for me.

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Jane Mangan

Aintree Jane Mangan