Dan Skelton Aintree Day One runners blog: 'Hopefully he can transfer a good Champion Hurdle to this race, which arguably suits him more'
1:45 Aintree
MAESTRO CONTI
We're really looking forward to going to Aintree, we always do; we love it. It's a completely different vibe to Cheltenham; Aintree is a bit more relaxed, the sun is out and we're very lucky to be able to go up to Liverpool - and the people up there love their racing. Hopefully it's a great meeting for everyone.
We start Thursday with Maestro Conti in the opening juvenile hurdle - he was second in the Triumph and I don't see any reason to suggest that he will underrun that performance. If anything, I think he can improve, just because he's getting bigger, stronger and generally better. This is a different track, but again I don't think that's a negative for him; he won around Kempton, which is a flat track. I think he's going to go really well in this. There are three or four of them that are closely linked on form, but I'd like to put our hat in the ring and say we've got a massive chance here.
2:55 Aintree
PROTEKTORAT
Protektorat runs in the Bowl - we missed Cheltenham this year and come here fresh. He's getting older, I know, but he doesn't appear to be weakening in his ability. I think it's interesting that we're coming here fresh while a few of the others have been to Cheltenham. He looks fantastic, and it's a pleasure to be able to run him. He's done well at the track in the past, and won a Grade 1 here. He's been second in the Melling Chase the past two years, and I think he'll go really well.
I've got a lot of respect for the others; obviously there's a horse that finished second in the Gold Cup in Jango Baie, so you've got to respect them. But I do think Protektorat will run his best race.
3:30 Aintree
SNIPE & UNEXPECTED PARTY
We've got two in the Hunters' Chase, which I'm sure is going to be exciting. Unexpected Party is obviously the shorter-priced of the two, and one of the highest rated in this race. I think he'll go really well - we've trained him specifically for this. The jumps will be fine for him - he'll be looking forward to it as well. He loves his racing and I think he'll go really well.
Snipe is the other one for us, and he definitely holds his form well in Hunter Chases. He's danced some big dances in handicaps as well, so he knows big fields. I think he'll run well - he doesn't have the numbers of Unexpected Party, we know that, but I do think he'll run really well.
4:05 Aintree
THE NEW LION
We've then got The New Lion in the Aintree Hurdle. He had a great run in the Champion Hurdle, and stepping back up in trip is no negative for him. I don't have any negatives from him at home, he's had a light campaign and I think he brings lots to the table in this race. Hopefully he can go and transfer a good run in the Champion Hurdle to this race, which arguably suits him more. I'm really looking forward to it.
4:40 Aintree
PALAMON
Palamon runs in the Red Rum Chase, and he obviously runs under a penalty. His reassessed mark is 121, which is what he's running off here. He'll have seven pound off from young Harry, so it's a nice weight to go racing with. It's going to be very hard for him; it's a massive step up in grade, but we thought we'd give it a go.
5:15 Aintree
NAN'S CHOICE & DIVINE DIVA
We finish Thursday with two in the bumper: Nan's Choice and Divine Diva, two nice mares. This has been the plan for Nan's Choice since we bought her - she ran really well in Ireland and won on pretty soft ground. She's a tenacious filly who I think will run really well. We've also decided to put Divine Diva in here, who was obviously third on debut for us in a listed race at Cheltenham, which was a great run. We were looking for a standard bumper with her, but given that everywhere is drying up pretty quickly, and Aintree are putting on a lot of water, we thought it was sensible to come here. I don't think she's a back number by any stretch, but this hasn't been Plan A for her. I'm very happy to have her in here, having shown listed form already.
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Ben Jones Aintree Day One rides blog: 'I saw him this morning and I've got to say he looks magnificent'
2:20 Aintree
MAMBONUMBERFIVE
We're heading up to Aintree having just about freshened up ff the back of a hectic Cheltenham festival. I've got one ride on the opening day: Mambonumberfive in the Grade 1 novices' chase. To be honest, he's a horse that hasn't let us down, bar his last run. He's obviously taken to fence chasing really well, and one who we were targeting Cheltenham with, but he wasn't quite right at home before then, so we decided to give him a little break to get him to Aintree in tip-top form.
I saw him this morning [Tuesday] and I've got to say he looks magnificent. You wouldn't say he looks like he's had a busy season when looking at him. He looks really, really well, and he worked well this morning. So it's all systems go... obviously Lulamba is odds-on in this race, but bar that one, it's pretty open. We've come up against a couple of the others and been on the right side of them. So if he can forget his last ride and show up like we know he can, then hopefully we've got a good chance. There's only five runners, so we're very much looking forward to it.
It's not a busy day, but I'd much rather take quality over quantity, and Mambonumberfive is quality.
