Aintree Racing Tips: Nusret one of two bets for Kevin Blake on day one of Grand National Festival

• Irish-trained horses the ones to back after Cheltenham

• Nurset price is the most tempting at 14:20

• Back The Last Day to have his day (again)

The Aintree Grand National meeting is here. While much of the focus of the National Hunt season tends to be on the Cheltenham Festival, Aintree offers a very different sort of racegoer experience that makes it a firm favourite amongst supporters on both sides of the Irish Sea.

One common denominator between the two meetings is an array of top-class action and Thursday's card presents a couple of appealing betting opportunities.

Nusret appeals at surprising prices

The Jewson Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle (14:20) brings together an intriguing mix of contenders from both sides of the Irish Sea.

Mind, if what we have seen so far in this division is anything to go by, the Irish-trained runners are likely to hold a significant edge over their British-trained rivals.

The Irish have dominated this division throughout the season, with the first 10 home in the Triumph Hurdle being trained there.

Considering the one-sided nature of it all so far, it is surprising that the main two Irish contenders aren't shorter in the market than they are.

While the chance of the Triumph Hurdle third Zenta is very much respected, it is the Joseph O'Brien-trained Nusret that is favoured at the prices.

The son of Golden Horn has won two of his four starts over hurdles, most notably beating Perseus Way in a Grade 2 juvenile hurdle at Kempton in February.

He can be a tricky ride, as he is best delivered as late as possible, but Daryl Jacob has had plenty of experience on him and knows what will be required.

He skipped the Cheltenham Festival with a view to coming to this meeting fresh and that patience may well be rewarded here. It is surprising to see him available at the sort of price he is and as long as the ground stays around good-to-soft, he looks to have a great chance.

Racing... Only Bettor - Day One Preveiw

Consectuive wins for The Last Day?

The other race of interest is the Close Brothers Red Rum Handicap Chase (16:40) and it might well see the Evan William-trained The Last Day gain his second consecutive win in the race.

The 11-year-old is lightly raced for his age and did what can often prove to be difficult in this race last year in that he came from off the pace to win with his ears pricked.

While he has only had two disappointing runs since then, the handicapper has been notably generous in dropping him by 6lb which leaves him 1lb better off with Dancing On My Own from their meeting in this race last year.

One can be sure that Evan Williams has had this race in mind for some time and is likely to have all the screws tightened in anticipation of it.

There looks to be more than a couple of front runners in the race that should contribute to a strong pace which will very much help his cause given that he likes to be ridden quietly. He represents a very interesting proposition at his current price.