Imperial Commander may pay penalty at Grand National meeting
New cast, changed venue, different result? As the contours of Cheltenham give way to the lowlands of Liverpool the perennial question is posed. Will the winners from the Cheltenham Festival follow up at Aintree’s Grand National meeting?
Top of the bill on the first day of the fixture is the Grade One totesport Bowl Chase, where Imperial Commander will attempt to underline his new-found position after winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The day after that victory Imperial Commander’s trainer, Nigel Twiston-Davies, indicated that he wanted to run at Aintree. "I’d very much like to go to Liverpool," he said. "And without Kauto and Denman it would be a penalty kick."
Perhaps, but think of Chris Waddle in the 1990 World Cup or Gareth Southgate in Euro 96 and that thought sounds less reassuring. The recent record of Gold Cup winners who have run again that season is reasonable as both Kicking King and War Of Attrition won at the Punchestown Festival.
However, that meeting comes at the end of the month, allowing more time to recover from the inevitable exertions of a race like the Gold Cup which was run just 20 days ago. Both Kauto Star and Denman contested this race having finished second in the Gold Cup, without success, and even though Imperial Commander won by seven lengths it was far from an easy success.
There also have to be some doubts about Imperial Commander’s ability to handle the track. Granted he ran well at this meeting over hurdles two years ago, but the chase track is much sharper and Imperial Commander’s two uninspiring attempts at Kempton, in the last two renewals of the King George VI Chase, hint at a potential weakness.
If it is there to be exploited it may be put under strain by the pace that is likely to be set by Nacarat and Carruthers, who led the field for a long way in the Gold Cup before falling back to finish 30 lengths fourth, with Calgary Bay nearly nine lengths further back in sixth.
Nacarat, who was kept away from Cheltenham specifically for this race, may be another horse who missed the Festival who wins. What A Friend, trained by Paul Nicholls, is part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson and can make it a better day for the Manchester United manager after last night’s Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich. What A Friend is already a Grade One winner – in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown in December – and if Imperial Commander has yet to recover from his previous race and Nacarat runs his race too early in a duel for the lead then What A Friend can profit.
There were precious few profits for those who supported the Cheltenham Festival bankers but Big Buck’s lived up to his name when he won the World Hurdle and he can maintain his seven-race winning streak over hurdles in the Grade One BGC Partners Liverpool Hurdle but, in what may be a muddling race behind him, Wolf Moon might just sneak a place at long odds.
It would probably be even longer odds about Nick Williams ever becoming champion trainer simply because he only trains just over 25 horses. However, 11th place in the trainers’ championship tells its own story and the statistics for his novice hurdlers emphasises that. A 21% strike-rate for the season suggests that Me Voici is not without a chance Matalan Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle.
Unusually for a juvenile hurdler Me Voici, who also missed Cheltenham, has no experience of running on the Flat so to win a Grade One hurdle on only his third start, as he did at Chepstow in December, showed an above-average talent and there is every reason to expect more improvement. The ground on the hurdles track may be drying out a little for him but the long home straight at Aintree looks ideal.
The John Smith's Fox Hunters' Chase has previous winners Trust Fund and Christy Beamish in the field but Baby Run is the form pick based on his win in the Cheltenham equivalent and his overall jumping suggests he should be able to handle the National fences. Consigliere has hardly run a bad race all season and looks weighted to reverse Cheltenham form with Pigeon Island in the Alder Hey Imagine Appeal Red Rum Handicap Chase.
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