Forest Gunner, winner of the Fox Hunters' Chase at Aintree in April, returns to the scene of his finest triumph tomorrow to fulfill another date with the Grand National course.
Richard Ford's gelding is set to tackle the £50,000 betfair.com Grand Sefton Chase over two and three-quarter miles and the most famous fences in the world.
Forest Gunner fairly devoured these obstacles in the Fox Hunters' when, ridden by his trainer's wife Carrie, he ran out an impressive winner over tomorrow's distance.
Lack of a preparatory outing tomorrow may not count too heavily against Forest Gunner, who has gone well fresh in the past. If he can reproduce his previous form over these fences, he will surely take plenty of beating.
Turpin Green gets the vote to land the betfair.com Novices' Hurdle, which opens the Aintree programme.
A former successful point-to-pointer in Ireland, Turpin Green is now trained by Nicky Richards in Cumbria for Trevor Hemmings, and was a winner on his seasonal bow at Uttoxeter last month.
Town Crier should not be overlooked in the Sharp Minds Betfair Novices' Chase over two miles of the Mildmay course.
A winner over hurdles at Kelso on his seasonal debut, Sue Smith's useful gelding duly followed-up on his chasing bow at Wetherby last month.
In the featured Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon, preference is for Le Roi Miguel, trained by Paul Nicholls and the mount of Ruby Walsh. A top-flight performer on his day, Le Roi Miguel should have benefitted from a recent pipe-opener over hurdles at Chepstow.
BBC1 will also be showing the first three races from Windsor, including the £50,000 Life From Coloroll Chase.
Nap selection Calling Brave, who firmly established himself among the best novices of last season, looks the one to be on here from the Nicky Henderson stable.
Saturday's tips:
Aintree
12-45 Turpin Green, 1-20 Town Crier, 1-50 Petite Margot, 2-20 Forest Gunner, 2-55 Tyndarius, 3-25 Golden Measure
Windsor
1-05 Reveillez, 1-35 Calling Brave (NAP), 2-05 Plutocrat, 2-35 Sossus Vlei, 3-05 Romany Dream, 3-35 Sea The Light
Huntingdon
12-25 Rosemauve, 12-55 Three Days Reign, 1-25 Diego Cao, 1-55 Chauvinist, 2-25 Mister Arjay, 3-00 Le Roi Miguel, 3-30 It's Only Polite
Tomorrow's other race meetings are at Wolverhampton and Lingfield.
Updated: 10:04 Friday, November 19, 2004
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