The 2024 Grand National meeting gets underway on Thursday 11th April and an estimated 70,000 horse racing fans will head to Aintree racecourse for the opening day of action.
The horse racing betting odds are set and declarations are in, but who is Steve Mullington backing to prevail on Day 1 at Aintree? Scroll down to check out his picks...
If you're looking for Grand National tips for all the races on day one, look no further as our writer will be here to provide Aintree betting tips on each race of the 2024 meeting.
Meanwhile, if you are looking specifically for a Grand National pinsticker's guide to the big race then we have you covered for that too!
Aintree Day 1 Races And Times
| Time | Race |
|---|---|
| 1.45pm | Manifesto Novices' Chase (Grade 1) |
| 2.20pm | Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1) |
| 2.55pm | Aintree Bowl (Grade 1) |
| 3.30pm | Aintree Hurdle (Grade 1) |
| 4.05pm | Foxhunters' Open Hunters' Chase (Class 2) |
| 4.40pm | Red Rum Handicap Chase (Grade 3) |
| 5.15pm | Mares' Standard Open NH Flat Race (Grade 2) |
With four Grade 1 races on the Thursday, it is undoubtedly the most competitive of the three days at the Aintree Grand National meeting.
Here, our writer and regular Aintree racegoer Steve Mullington (@mulldog) gives his Aintree Day 1 tips for each race on the opening day of the Grand National festival.
Aintree Tips Day 1
1.45pm Manifesto Novices’ Chase (2m4f)
Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning (NAP) was victorious in the Turners Novices' Chase at Cheltenham ahead of Ginny’s Destiny and the pair meet once more in the opening race of the Aintree Festival.
Winner Market -
Grey Dawning has been a revelation this season and he register career win number nine in this Grade 1 affair.
Of the others, Willie Mullins’ Il Etait Temps has never finished out of the first three in the last 12 months.
2.20pm Anniversary 4-Y-O Hurdle (2m1f)
Sir Gino (NAP) looks the banker of the day on Thursday and it will take a herculean effort by one of the others to beat him.
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Pulled out of the Triumph Hurdle due to a sickness bug running through the yard, Nicky Henderson’s youngster had been the clear favourite for the race on the back of two emphatic victories in December and January.
If he’s back to full fitness then we could well see yet another multi-length demolishing of the assembled field.
Of the others, the Joseph O’Brien-trained Nurburgring is proven on heavy ground and could prove to be a dangerous outsider.
2.55pm Aintree Bowl (3m1f)
The popular chaser Shishkin (NAP) returns to action in the Aintree Bowl and Nicky Henderson’s ten-year-old can bring all his experience to the party to land the silverware.
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In an eventful season Shishkin has refused to race, almost won the King George but for a last fence mishap, and then won the Denman Chase by a comfortable margin.
Rated 173, he’s clearly the daddy of all the chasers competing in this race and looks sure to be involved in the finish.
Previous Aintree scorer Ahoy Senor is dangerous to dismiss and saves some of his best runs for the Merseyside track.
3.30pm Aintree Hurdle (2m4f)
The gamble for the season was landed at Cheltenham so I cannot for the life of me see Langer Dan following up in this Grade 1 Hurdle. This is a completely different ball game altogether.
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Class horse Bob Olinger (NAP) looks to hold all the aces in this pack and Henry De Bromhead’s nine-year-old is thoroughly enjoying his second spell at hurdling. He ran a cracker behind State Man at the Festival and doesn’t face anything of that quality in this line up today.
Irish Champion Hurdle third Impaire Et Passe should also be vying for a podium finish.
4.05pm Foxhunters’ Chase (2m5f)
Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero go into the Foxhunters with a nice prospect in the shape of Gaboriot (NAP).
It would be really fitting too if they could land the race as earlier in the season they lost a lovely horse in Gesskille and his likely target would have been this Aintree spectacle for the amateur riders.
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A winner of three of his four races this season, Gaboriot looked like the winner a long way out in his Hunter Chase at Catterick at the beginning of March. If he jumps with the same fluency over these unique Grand National fences then he going to be in with a fighting chance.
This year’s Cheltenham Foxhunters’ runner-up It’s On The Line is an obvious danger, but in a race that has thrown up the odd big outsider over the years, give some each-way consideration to Windsor Avenue, Grand Roi & The Big Lense.
4.40pm – Red Rum Handicap Chase (2m)
Homme Public (NAP) has had a mighty fine 2023/24 season and it would be wonderful if he could cap it all off in the Red Rum at Aintree.
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Trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, the seven-year-old has won at Wetherby, Cheltenham and Doncaster and in his last race he showed great tenacity and determination to score in testing conditions on Town Moor. A bit of juice on Thursday won’t do him any harm either.
Forecast players may want to include Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Guy, while top-weight Dancing On My Own is a course and distance scorer and anything Rachael Blackmore rides is worth a second look.
5.15pm – Nickel Coin Mares’ NH Flat Race (2m 1f)
Some quality mares have come out of this race down the years and perhaps the latest one waiting in the wings is the Willie Mullins-trained Baby Kate.
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If she can emulate her dam’s sire in any way when she goes hurdling next season then there will be plenty to look forward to. In terms of this race, she’s right up there in the betting and understandably so.
Value seekers may just want to give Metkayina the once over as Noel Williams’ mares traditionally do very well in heavy going for some reason.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
