Irish Runners to Watch on Day 3 at Aintree The three-day Aintree Festival comes to a close on Saturday, but definitely with a bang rather than a whimper. The main event itself is dominated by Irish-trained runners but we’ve picked out three runners in some of the other excellent races to keep an eye on. We’ve picked out three particularly interesting runners that are well worth keeping an eye on in the Grade 1 races and they include a Gavin Cromwell runner that finished second at Cheltenham and could be well set to go one better at this easier track. bet365 Free Bet Offer for Grand National Day If you have already signed up to bet365, discover more of the best betting sites and casino bonuses. Koktail Divin - Aintree 1.55 @ 13/2 French import KOKTAIL DIVIN won a couple of bumpers in very good style for previous connections and showed plenty of promise when finishing second to Willie Mullins’ Kaid d’Authie in a 2m4f maiden hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas. He was then tried over two miles at Fairyhouse, which was a failed experiment as the trip proved to be too sharp for him. It’s worth noting that the runner-up William Munny went on to chase Kopek Des Bordes home in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, however. The return to 2m4f at Leopardstown last time out facilitated the shedding of his maiden tag over hurdles and he ran out an impressive six-length winner on the day. Obviously he’ll need to improve on that, but there are few better trainers than Henry de Bromhead. Connections decided to swerve Cheltenham and come here instead, which could prove to be a smart move. This probably isn’t the deepest of Grade 1 novice hurdles and he can give Lulamba a run for his money. Teahupoo - Aintree 3.05 @ 5/2 2024 Stayers’ Hurdle winner TEAHUPOO could only manage second this year but still ran a very good race. No horse has beaten Bob Olinger at Cheltenham, so there’s no shame in losing to him, who also represents the same owner. That was his first start since early December and you would imagine he’s entitled to improve for the run. He did so last year when winning the Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown after his Cheltenham success and it should be a similar situation this time around. Beginning his season at Fairyhouse, he had no answer for Lossiemouth in the closing stages of that race. It was still a reasonable effort and it was Mullins’ mare’s best trip and probably a little on the sharp side for Teahupoo these days. Elliott’s gelding remains the one to beat here and he can gain some valuable compensation for his Cheltenham Festival defeat. Only By Night - Aintree 5.00 @ 7/4 Gavin Cromwell is having an exceptional campaign so far, which has been crowned by Inothewayurthinkin’s Gold Cup victory at Cheltenham. He nearly had an even better Cheltenham, as ONLY BY NIGHT was second by less than a length in the Arkle. This daughter of Affinisea won a Grade 2 event for mares at Cork back in December and followed up in a Listed contest on this side of the Irish Sea at Exeter. Her form suggests she goes on pretty much any ground, which is a good omen here and she could go well once again. If taken literally, the Arkle form suggests she’s slightly more interesting than Dan Skelton’s L’Eau du Sud, but there’s not much in it and she looks like the value bet at the prices. Odds courtesy of bet365 and correct at the time of publishing
