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Aintree Betting: Cunningham's day one tips from the Grand National meeting

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It isn't money for nothing....but Kicks For Free is worth taking on as Aintree explodes into life. Racing UK analyst Graham Cunningham unveils his betting angles for day one of the Grand National meeting

The great Hawkeye Pierce of M*A*S*H fame once quipped that "if you bring that sentence in for a fitting I'll have it shortened by Wednesday."

And brevity is essential if you are trying to condense day one of the Grand National meeting into seven punchy paragraphs.

In short, it's the start of the greatest urban racing event in Britain. Some of these predictions will come off and others will doubtless go awry. Either way, you can't deny that they are clear and to the point.

1. Lay Kicks For Free in Thursday's opener at 2.00. Plenty of layers will look to take on Inglis Drever in the hope that Aintree will be too sharp, but Howard Johnson's gelding is as good as ever and deserves to be a short price. Kicks For Free turned in a lifetime best to be nailed on the line in the Coral Cup, but he is up in class and distance here and it's also worth noting that he followed a good run at Cheltenham with a poor one here last term.

2. Back Binocular to upset Celestial Halo in the 3.10. The Triumph winner will probably set out to make the running again, while stats followers are sure to focus on Nicky Henderson's poor Aintree record to bolster their case for opposing Binocular. Fortunately, Binocular doesn't read the papers or subscribe to the racing channels. His Supreme Novices' second reads every bit as well as Celestial Halo's Triumph success and Aintree might just suit him that bit better than his main rival.

3. Back Lennon win and place in the 4.20 with the aim of laying him back at [3.0] and [1.5] in running. Howard Johnson's gelding is a bold jumper with a course win under his belt and will be much fresher than most after a light campaign. He's still fairly treated, though Dennis O'Regan would be well advised not to get involved in a pace duel with fellow front runners like Lord Henry and Dev.

4. Lay Andreas in the 4.20 in the hope that his big weight will count in the latter stages. Aintree holds no terrors for him, as he was challenging when he fell two out in this race last year, and he proved that he's in good heart when fourth at Cheltenham. However, not for the first time Andreas didn't find a lot when the chips were down there and his challenge will have to be timed to perfection if he's to win this.

5. Lay Group Captain in the 4.55. Yes, he didn't get a smooth passage when I opposed him in the Ballymore Hurdle, but the way he jumped sloppily and raced lazily at Cheltenham was worrying and Alan King has reached for the blinkers. He's a danger to all if they work but there is more than enough depth to this field to suggest it's worth taking one more crack at him in the win market.

6. Back Lightning Strike win and place in the 4.55 with the aim of laying him back at [3.5] and [1.5] in running. Yes, he finished two lengths behind Group Captain at Cheltenham, but he impressed with the way he jumped and travelled for a long way and similar tactics have every chance of attracting in running players. Having Sam Thomas back aboard could see him produce a little more improvement, too.

7. Lay the P-Team to small stakes in the win market for the 5.30. Peacock went into thousands of notebooks when badly hampered in the Coral Cup, but he's lost his last ten and could be overbet. Palomar is up in trip after failing to quicken at Sandown. He needs to improve to win over this trip and that seems unlikely, while Pacha D'Oudairies takes a marked hike in class after landing a punt at Taunton. One will probably go close, but laying the trio combined looks relatively low risk.