Aintree Lucky 15 Tips for Thursday: Grand National Festival Tips from Alan Dudman on Day 1

Aintree Day 1 Superboost

Selma De Vary ran an excellent race in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham, finishing a narrow fourth after being short of room up the home straight. She looks sure to improve on that in today's Boodles 4yo Juvenile Hurdle at 13:45, which is why she's 9/43.25 favourite to win the race.

She's also 2/51.40 to finish in the top three today but you can back her at the super-boosted price of 1/12.00 to finish in the placings, and with only 10 runners in the race, five of which are priced at 40/141.00 or higher, that looks an excellent price.

To take advantage of today's Superboost just click on the odds below to go directly to the Horse Racing section on the Betfair Sportsbook where you will see the Selma De Vary Superboost towards the top of the page.

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Listen to Racing...Only Bettor's Aintree Day 1 Preview...

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Boodles Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle. 13:45, Aintree - Back Maestro Conti @ 3/14.00

Dan Skelton can add to his increasing money pot with Maestro Conti and there's every chance the conditions and drying turf will suit him even more so than the "good to soft, soft in places" at Cheltenham.

His second in the Triumph Hurdle behind the Willie Mullins' outsider puts him as a big contender, clearly, and while his keen-going tendencies have been there for all to see, he settled better at Cheltenham and looked to be travelling the best in the field into the straight and heading to the near-side rail.

Maestro Conti's quickest part of the race was the middle chunk furlongs, but having been headed and a less than fluent jump at the last he fought back to regain second and on that, you have to think Aintree will suit him.

He traded at 2.26/5 in the run at Cheltenham.

In his Cheltenham Trial win in January, Skelton said afterwards he is a good stayer at the trip and he made up plenty of ground in soft. The trainer also said he goes with a lot of class.

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Racing Welfare Bowl Chase, 14:55, Aintree - Back Spillane's Tower @ 4/15.00

Cheltenham's loss is Aintree's gain with Spillane's Tower, who surely would have gone close at the Festival if the ground was more to the liking of JP McManus and he remains an unfulfilled talent at this level. 

It's always the nagging doubt if the going is soft enough for him, so hopefully the Aintree water commissars will do their job as those clerks might just have been listening to Willie and JP at Cheltenham with that gentle pressure applied and will make it a little wetter to resemble an Atkinson Grimshaw pavement. 

Spillane's Tower was last seen in January, so he comes into the race as a fresher horse than all, and he has form on good and good to soft from his previous Punchestown exploits in April.

Two of his defeats from three wins this season have been over hurdles and over shorter so it all points to a good run here as his January success in the Betfair Grade 2 Cotswold Chase was a win that saw him effectively toy with L'Homme Presse and he lobbed through the race and jumped well when the pressure was on in the straight. 

Indeed, it's worth remembering he was the Punchestown Champion Novice in 2024 and when he's on song over fences, and when we get to see him chasing, it always appears to come easy for him. 

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Randox Foxhunters' Open Hunters' Chase, 15:30, Aintree - Back Barton Snow @ 5/23.50

My Dad would often tell me if you want your bricks done, go to the bricklayer, and while he spoke plenty of nonsense, that was sage advice from Alan senior. Therefore I have enlisted the help of my chum Darran Pearce for the Hunter Chase, a field he  knows more about than I will ever know. And if you want an each-way bet for that race, find Darran on twitter with the link to his preview.

With some short prices on the card in small fields, I'd rather back in this with Barton Snow at 5/23.50, as Darran is of the opinion the Aintree test could suit him ever better than Cheltenham, as he is a stayer with pace and speed; who has won at 2m and 3m2f and the win at Cheltenham allayed any of the staying fears.

He was the only runner in the Foxhunter's at Cheltenham to break 16.00 seconds at the final furlong, which backs up the stamina ideas here and he should travel the best under a prominent ride. That's the plan anyway. 

Don't let me down Dazzler.

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Goffs Nickel Coin Mares' Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race, 17:15, Aintree - Back Timamzel @ 7/18.00

One of my favourite horses circa 15 years ago was Megastar - a horse I saw a few times in the flesh and was such a looker for Gary Moore that it always made for blissful watching even when he lost.

Megastar won the Aintree Champion Grade 2 Bumper in 2010 when I had some hair, and Moore can follow in the footsteps of Megastar in Liverpool with his mare Timamzel who is looking to win the distaff version.

Three runs this term, all on soft, with two wins and a second, her best display was winning at Sandown with a burst of speed in the closing stages like a squirrel up a branch.

She took off and took the Notnowcato route too to the rail (perhaps in search of the better going) and she was miles quicker than anything else in the final three furlongs.

That rocket-like finish and how she was swinging on the bridle into the straight at Sandown means I want to keep with her up in class.

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Now read Alan Dudman's antepost column for Aintree here!

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