Take Ker when betting on the Stayers’
ANOTHER duel between Thyme Hill and Paisley Park could make this year’s Ryanair Stayers Hurdle (3.35pm) a classic.
The score is currently 1-1 between the pair and this rematch has been long-awaited after Thyme Hill missed last month’s Cheltenham Festival after a small setback.
He arrives here the fresher horse, is more open to improvement and will relish the better ground, so it’s no surprise he’s the 9/4 favourite with Paisley Park at 3/1.
Classy mare Roksana, second here in 2019 when beaten just a head, has strong claims too and is third in the betting.
Outside of the big guns, DIOL KER comes in under the radar at 20/1 and could blow them all out of the water.
Irish trainer Noel Meade landed a valuable raid with Jeff Kidder at Cheltenham and, alongside Tout Est Permis in the Grand National, this is the only other horse he’s brought over to Aintree.
His run behind Sam’s Profile back in January is a solid piece of form, and if you go back 18 months he beat the mighty Monkfish in a maiden hurdle by seven lengths.
The flatter track and better ground is a bit of an unknown, but he’s clearly been kept back for a couple of months to have a crack at a big spring race and he’s a likeable each-way selection.
From the slightly lesser exposed to a 10-year-old with 32 runs under his belt, TOP NOTCH could run a big one in the Betway Handicap Chase (4.15pm).
He returned from a three-month winter break to run a cracker and finish third at odds of 50/1 behind The Shunter in the Plate at Cheltenham.
As a slightly older horse who’s undergone two wind ops in the last year you want to see a run that suggests the fire still burns, and that’s exactly what he delivered.
Running off the same mark here in what looks a slightly weaker race, and with promising 7lb claimer Luca Morgan in the saddle again, he should be bang there if repeating that effort.
On his day, which is probably 12 months past him now, he’s a very good Grade Two performer, so the 8/1 about him in this sort of race looks generous.
Lalor has a similar sort of profile and could also run well at big odds, but we’ve not seen him since January 2020 and he has become a little inconsistent.
POINTERS
Diol Ker e/w 3.35pm Aintree
Top Notch e/w 4.15pm Aintree