Free tips on day three of the Grand National Festival
The Grand National headlines the action at Aintree on Saturday 13th April
Forward Plan, Botox Has and Djelo feature in our day three tips
Expired
Grand National day at Aintree. (Getty)
Day 3 Tips
Aintree Tips - Saturday 13th April
1:20pm Aintree - Handicap Hurdle Tips
1:55pm Aintree - Mersey Novices' Hurdle Tips
2:30pm Aintree - Handicap Chase Tips
3:05pm Aintree - Liverpool Hurdle Tips
4:00pm Aintree - Grand National Tips
5:00pm Aintree - Maghull Novices' Chase Tips
5:35pm Aintree - National Hunt Flat Race Tips
Free tips for Aintree on Saturday, where the 2024 Grand National headlines the card.
Along with the world's most famous handicap, which takes place at the earlier time of 4:00pm, racing fans six strong races to sink their teeth into. Three more Grade One races will be run on Saturday, along with a couple of open handicaps and the Grade Two bumper.
Here are my best betting tips on Grand National day at Aintree.
Aintree Tips - Saturday 13th April
1:20pm Aintree - Handicap Hurdle Tips
Plenty can claim to have a chance in this wide-open handicap. The one I like most is BLACK BAMBOO (10/1), who ran an encouraging race in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham.
I backed John Murphy's seven-year-old at the Dublin Racing Festival in February, where he was only beaten seven lengths behind Maxxum, having found traffic at a crucial stage. Black Bamboo was held up and posted wide in the Coral Cup, but stayed on well up the hill to record his third-successive sixth-place finish. Stepping back up to three miles should suit Sean Flanagan's mount, who proved at Cheltenham that this mark of 128 is certainly not beyond him.
1:55pm Aintree - Mersey Novices' Hurdle Tips
Brighterdaysahead is the apple of Gordon Elliott's eye, but what she's produced on the track doesn't warrant such a short price against the geldings here. I'm in no rush to back Caldwell Potter and neither of Willie Mullins' runners hold a tremendous amount of appeal. I'll leave this one alone.
2:30pm Aintree - Handicap Chase Tips
I was eyeing up FORWARD PLAN (13/2) for last month's Kim Muir, but Anthony Honeyball decided to skip Cheltenham when the rain arrived. Ben Godfrey's mount has been in cracking form this season, winning two of his last three starts in high-profile handicaps, while also losing out to Annual Invictus in the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster.
Forward Plan finished the Coral Trophy at Kempton like he'd entered the race at the second-last and a mere four-pound rise for that victory seems lenient. Honeyball's four-year-old will carry just 10-8 into this race and the ground doesn't look to be as testing on Grand National day as it was earlier in the week.
Forward Plan (centre) winning at Kempton. (Getty)
3:05pm Aintree - Liverpool Hurdle Tips
Flooring Porter and Sire Du Berlais hold obvious chances. I wouldn't be quick to give up on Crambo either, who might have blown out at Cheltenham, but he's the only seasonal Grade One winner in the field - barring King George hero Hewick - and remains on an upward trajectory.
At the prices, I'm inclined to back BOTOX HAS (16/1), who has registered two impressive Grade Two victories this term. Gary Moore's eight-year-old steps back into Grade One company following a career-best effort in the Rendlesham at Haydock. Botox Has seems to do his best work around galloping, left-handed tracks like Haydock, Fontwell and Wetherby, so Aintree should be right up his street.
Strange decision to move the final Grade One of the meeting to the slot after the Grand National. It's a shame too, as the front-running Nickle Back always puts on a good spectacle. Found A Fifty, Hercule Du Seuil, Etalon and Matata have done their best work from the front too, so it's hard to know how this race will unfold.
DJELO (12/1) was held up to get the trip in both the Scilly Isles and the Turners at Cheltenham and stayed on well to place on both occasions. Venetia Williams' six-year-old won the Noel Novices' Chase over 19 furlongs earlier in the season, but I'm convinced that two miles is his best distance and a red-hot pace over the minimum distance should suit.
Charlie Deutsch's mount boasts winning form here at Aintree too, having beaten Master Chewy back in November. I expect Djelo to perform better than his current odds would suggest.
5:35pm Aintree - National Hunt Flat Race Tips
No bet for me in the last.
Verdict
Best bets on Grand National day:
Best Bet1: Forward Plan 2:30pm Aintree @13/2 at bet365 - 10 Units
Best Bet2: Black Bamboo E/W 1:20pm Aintree @10/1 at Betgoodwin - 5 Units
Best Bet3: Djelo E/W 5:00pm Aintree @12/1 at Betgoodwin - 5 Units
Best Bet4: Botox Has E/W 3:05pm Aintree @16/1 at BoyleSports - 5 Units
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