Kris Hilliam previews Saturday's Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Standard Open NH Flat Race at Aintree.
A race that has very much bucked the trend of Irish dominance at the major spring festivals in recent years, Bacardys in 2016 being the last from across the Irish Sea to come out on top, while that renewal was also the last time the Champion Bumper form was well represented in the race, the Willie Mullins-trained winner having been third at Cheltenham with stablemate Battleford filling the runner-up spot in both contests.
EL CAIROS is the only one backing up from Cheltenham this time around, though his fifth there is by the far best piece of form on offer and a reproduction of that run would be good enough to win an average running of this.
The pair who are next best on Timeform ratings are the Irish-trained duo Koktail Brut and Green Splendour, though they both had their limitations in this grade exposed when coming home fourth and fifth at Leopardstown last time and there’s no obvious reason to expect either of them to find the improvement required to see off an on-song El Cairos.
The main dangers should instead come from the raft of horses who come here on the back of impressive successes on their only start in bumpers, of which two from each of Ireland and Britain look especially open to the sort of improvement required to land this. Le Labo makes a fair amount of appeal on pedigree, a brother to the useful Presentandcounting out of a half-sister to Binocular, and he did well in overcoming greenness to win a Thurles race last month. That race has thrown up a few good sorts over the years, Complete Unknown being the most notable, and the fifth has already come out and given the form of this year’s running a boost in winning on his next start.
Only one horse in the race has been absent longer than Scope To Improve but there was plenty in his performance when successful at Naas before Christmas to suggest that he’ll live up to his name here. He’s very much bred for stamina but impressed with the smooth style in which he came from last place and his twelve-length hammering of Klub de Reve in a point-to-point was given a boost a couple of weeks ago.
Dan Skelton has enjoyed an excellent season with his bumper horses – operating at a 30% strike rate and showing a level stakes profit – and his Quaviste is notable in that he’s one of only a few from the yard to have made a winning bumper debut having not previously contested a point-to-point. He knuckled down well to edge out Wandering Ego on the line at Huntingdon having made smooth headway around the entire field from the end of the back straight and seems sure to improve for the experience with the runner-up having recently landed a Wetherby race.
It’s Mossy Fen Road, however, who created the biggest impression of the first-time-out winners when he landed a Wetherby race in early February by four lengths without needing to come off the bridle. Sent off favourite having already won a point-to-point by a similar margin, he made rapid headway out wide entering the straight and was firmly in command by the two-furlong pole, value for something more like double his winning margin. His pedigree adds further appeal too, from the family of Morley Street and Granville Again and a half-brother to the high-class Fury Road and to one unbeaten in a trio of bumpers.
There’s little to separate Mossy Fen Road and El Cairos in the market, however, and just as in the Champion Bumper it could well pay to side with proven form over potential with the latter’s own debut success at Newbury having also been just as impressive as that of his main market rival, while his Cheltenham run could arguably be marked up a little further given the bump he took when starting to hit full stride.
Published at 1738 BST on 03/04/25
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