Betfair ambassador Paul Nicholls on his Saturday team

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Sandown

13:50 - Tamaroc Du Mathan

Chasing was always going to be his game and his jumping was faultless when he made an impressive winning debut over fences in a novice handicap at Wincanton last month. This is obviously a big step up in class for Tamaroc Du Mathan who has taken a fair old time to mature. But he is still only five, the talent has always been there and he finished a close fifth in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury in February.

13:50 - Hitman

I think the world of Hitman who made a stunning debut for us in a decent novice Chase at Ffos Las 27 days ago. He has improved since then, jumped like a natural on Wednesday morning and the softer the ground at Sandown the more he will like it. While he does lack racing experience compared to some of his rivals he has a huge amount of talent and I’m very excited about him.

14:25 - Greaneteen

He won the Haldon Gold Cup in determined style at Exeter, staying on stoutly. Although he has earned a crack at this Grade 1 Chase and has come on bundles since Exeter he does need to improve as Politologue is rated 10lbs higher than him. Greaneteen is what I call a strong staying two miler which is what you want for a race like this and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him right in the mix.

14:25 - Politologue

You can forget his run in this a year ago because he’d had a hard race in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham beforehand. I changed the way I train him after that and you saw the real Politologue when he won the Champion Chase in March. We know he is best fresh, he looks stunning, has had an away day and couldn’t be in better shape. The more it rains at Sandown the more it will suit him.

15:35 - Solo

He looks to be in the grip of the handicapper, has a seriously tough task carrying top weight in this as a four year old and is probably marking time until he goes chasing next season. I made a mistake in running Solo in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton as he wasn’t as straight as I thought, found the going too quick for his liking and was run off his feet. I suspect he has it all to do at Sandown but he has to run somewhere.

15:35 - Eglantine Du Seuil

She ran very nicely on her debut for us at Wincanton a month ago in a warm mares’ race when I felt she needed the outing. She blew up late on there, is fitter and sharper now and will appreciate dropping back in trip in this competitive handicap. Soft ground is ideal for Eglantine Du Seuil and she should go well with Angus Cheleda’s 7lbs claim coming in handy.

Aintree

13:30 - Yala Enki

He ran a career best when a close second to Ramses de Teille at Cheltenham last time and was staying on strongly all the way to the line. He is up 3lbs to a career high mark of 159 and the softer the ground at Aintree the better he will like it. He was on course for the Grand National in April until the lockdown put paid to that and if he takes to the fences as I expect on Saturday that race will again be his long term target.

13:30 - Give Me A Copper

He hasn’t been the easiest to train, hasn’t run for a year and had to miss the Badger Ales Chase at Wincanton a month ago after a little hiccup. Give Me A Copper is fine now, the flat track at Aintree will suit him and he tends to run best when he is fresh so he would have a chance provided the going doesn’t get too deep.

14:40 - Frodon

He was awesome last time at Cheltenham, full of enthusiasm as usual, jumping from fence to fence on his way to a brilliant victory in the. He is now up to a mark of 169 which pretty much rules him out of handicaps. With the sharp left handed track and conditions perfect for Frodon I was surprised to see as third favourite for this because he is the form horse having given heaps of weight at Cheltenham in October to Cloth Cap who then hacked up in the Ladbrokes Trophy on Saturday. He has improved for that run, won the Old Roan Chase here two years ago and has a big chance.

15:15- Modus

He jumped for fun on his return at Aintree ago on his way to a striking victory over the Mildmay course. The handicapper has had his say by putting Modus up 9lbs but if he takes to the National fences as I expect that is worth 9lbs round there. He seems very well and will again be ridden by Jonjo O’Neill who got a great tune out of him last time.

15:15 - Sametegal

He has been round these fences before, jumped well and is so consistent which means he doesn’t get any help from the handicapper. Dropping back to two miles, five furlongs will suit Sametegal who wasn’t beaten far at Sandown last time over three miles when it looked as though he didn’t quite get home up the hill. Soft ground is just the ticket for him.

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