GROUNDS FOR CAUTION AT AINTREE: Daqman has some cautious win-and-place and saver bets at Aintree, barring two specials: a supernap in the Aintree Hurdle and a Bull’s-Eye Bet in the Foxhunter’s. All in all, he hopes that a couple of returns will pay for the day. Reason for the caution? The biggest question mark of the day, and tell-tale for the Grand National: what is the Aintree going really like? Here are today’s headlines:

POWER START FOR THE PUNTER

BACKERS LOOK FOR A ‘LAYA’

SHUFFLE FOR THE WILD CARD

SUNDAE IS THURSDAY’S BEST

IT’S UNIONISTE ALL THE WAY

LAUGH YOUR ‘SOCKS’ OFF!


POWER START FOR THE PUNTER

They’re off at Aintree! And maybe Brain Power in the first – the Manifesto Chase – is a topical tip here for Trump and Putin; they certainly need some.

Topical because, in 1899, America and Russia were signatories to the Manifesto For General Peace at the Hague ‘Parliament of Man’ conference. Peace was declared among all nations.. except between punters and bookies!

Incredibly, Manifesto, who is celebrated in the name of this race, won the Grand National and General Peace the Lincoln Handicap in what was then so far the biggest Spring Double gamble among a betting-mad aristocracy that it was likened in later histories to a Wall Street Crash for layers.

1.45 Aintree (Manifesto Novices’ Chase) Nicky Henderson puts a tongue-tie on Brain Power after Footpad stole the money from him in the Arkle.

The excuse was the bad ground, and good to soft is ideal today. Brain Power is bred for this step up in trip.

The 2m 4f is perfect for Cyrname. He won the Wayward Lad at Kempton, and completed the double there by taking the BETDAQ-sponsored Pendil on the same course, one race on good, one in the mud.

His trainer, Paul Nicholls, has a ‘second’ string in Modus who has won small-field races but was quickly seen off at Cheltenham, and the sound-jumping mare, Rene’s Girl, could pose a bigger threat to Brain Power.


BACKERS LOOK FOR A ‘LAYA’

2.20 Aintree Nicky Henderson tries a first-time hood on another Cheltenham loser, Apple’s Shakira, beaten favourite in the Triumph Hurdle. He reckons it’s ‘the sensible thing to do’, after she ran ‘too free’ at the festival.

Nicky’s ‘second’ string today, We Have A Dream, sidestepped the Triumph but, although the handicapper has him 2lb in front of Apple’s Shakira, he has to give her the 7lb mare’s allowance.

And City Dreamer, whom he beat the equivalent of seven lengths at Doncaster, was about nine behind Malaya at Ascot, and Malaya also gets 7lb today.

Beau Gosse was 10 lengths off Malaya in the BETDAQ-sponsored Adonis at Kempton, and 9.6 is a big win-and-place price about the Paul Nicholls’ mare.

Guillaume Macaire, Beau Gosse trainer, is missing strike so badly at home that he’s gone 16 races with 13 in the first four, but no winners!

As the man said, when a free kick struck the referee: ‘That’s hard to do, even if you’re trying…!’


SHUFFLE FOR THE WILD CARD

2.50 Aintree (Bowl) We’ve lost three of the last four winners of this, Silviniaco Conti (twice) and Cue Card (2016), but last year’s hero, Tea For Two, is back for more.

He was never in the picture in the Gold Cup (hampered early) but had been third to the runner-up, Might Bite, in the King George, a couple of lengths behind Double Shuffle.

Yes, we have the 1-2-3 from the King George, but it’s the horse 25 lengths back in sixth who has the Press spotlight here.

Can Bristol De Mai return to his November best when he beat Blaklion, then Cue Card, in two races within about three weeks?

It’s not for the first time that we’ve had to ask Bristol De Mai to bounce back. In this very race last year, Tea For Two – rated only 158 (he’s on 164 now) – beat him 25 lengths.

In fact, Bristol did bounce back, but only after a long holiday, when he won for the fourth time out of five following a break.

This time, as well as 75 days off, he’s had a minor wind op, and whether he can now turn it around with Tea For Two and make up the leeway with Might Bite is the talking point of the race.

It’s a baffling contest, in which the real state of the ground may play a big part, but the value bet must surely be the freshened-up Double Shuffle, who swerves the Grand National for this.

Compare his 14.5 on BETDAQ with the 1.86 Might Bite, yet there was just a length between them in the King George. Shuffle is better place odds with three chances of a return than Might Bite for the win.


SUNDAE IS THURSDAY’S BEST

3.25 Aintree Hurdle It’s four years since The New One won this and, as I write this morning (surely, it hasn’t rained again!), he doesn’t have his ground today.

My Tent Or Yours is another veteran, second twice in this race, who beat The New One at Cheltenham in December. He swerved the Festival for a Spring campaign but is badly off at the weights.

Heading both in the ratings now after winning the Irish Champion Hurdle is Supersundae, who was not himself at Cheltenham (sweated up, second in the Stayers). Best of the opening day.


IT’S UNIONISTE ALL THE WAY

4.05 Aintree (Foxhunters) This is the first race on the Grand National fences, where the going is still soft.

That will help last year’s runner-up, Balnaslow, who went on to be champion hunter at the Punchestown Festival.

Dual winner On The Fringe is back at the age of 13, and Grand Vision ran well in the Cheltenham Foxhunter but the one I like is the two-years-younger Unioniste (12.5 offers), tenth in the 2016 Grand National.

If you assess him on flat tracks, taking out Chepstow and Cheltenham, you get form figures of 222111 and, since he likes the National fences, I can see him taking them on up front. That could be a big advantage in the dead ground.


LAUGH YOUR ‘SOCKS’ OFF!

4.40 Aintree (Red Rum Chase) We’re back where we began today with an ace Grand National winner we can all remember in the race title.

And BETDAQ serves another ace, too. A tremendous 103% orange overround after, in race order, 101, 102, 101, 102 and 104 up to this race. Amazing value!

Laugh your socks off, BETDAQ puntets. In fact, King’s Socks, who drops back to his winning trip as 5.2 favourite.

DAQMAN’S BETS

1.45 Aintree (win 20)
BET 6.25pts win BRAIN POWER
BET 3pts win (stakes saver) CYRNAME

2.20 Aintree (win 20)
BET 2.25pts win and place MALAYA
BET 3pts win (stakes saver) APPLE’S SHAKIRA

2.50 Aintree (win 20)
BET 1.50pts win and place DOUBLE SHUFFLE

3.25 Aintree (win 20)
SUPERNAP: 20pts win SUPERSUNDAE

4.05 Aintree (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 4.25pts win and place UNIONISTE
BET 2pts win (stakes saver) BALNASLOW

4.40 Aintree (win 20)
BET 5pts win KING’S SOCKS


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