Racegoers flock to Aintree as Barry Geraghty warns jockeys to expect 'real stamina test' on opening day

Just how gruelling is Aintree going to be? That's the key question facing punters on the Randox Grand National festival's opening day - and Grand National-winning rider Barry Geraghty stresses that when the going gets tough at Aintree, jockeyship really does come to the fore.

Clerk of the course Sulekha Varma has posted an official description of heavy, soft in places for the Grand National course - used today for the Foxhunters - and soft, heavy in places for the chase and hurdle tracks. That means underfoot conditions are marginally better than on Becher Chase day in December, when three of the four runners in a 2m4f novice chase were pulled up, but lessons learned then still need to be heeded. That is certainly the view of Barry Geraghty, triumphant in the sport's flagship contest aboard Monty's Pass 21 years ago.

"The track will look beautiful, clean and fresh, but when the ground is heavy or very soft at Aintree, it sucks the energy out of a horse," said Geraghty.

"Although it's a flat track, Aintree is a real stamina test when the ground is slow. That's more obviously the case to a rider when you're climbing hills but it's equally true here. The more experienced jockeys or those who are more clued up will recognise that earlier in a race. To those who don't recognise it, what they do in the first mile of a race could prove costly in the last mile. That's where rider judgement comes into play."

Barry Geraghty: "Aintree is a real stamina test when the ground is slow"Credit: Patrick McCann

The judgement of some jockeys was arguably flawed here four months ago.

"When you look back at Becher Chase day, the jockeys went really hard through the first few races but then it dawned on them how soft it was," said Varma. "A lot of people said those races were hard to watch, and they were, but once they slowed down it was all fine. Paul Nicholls said to me that there was nothing wrong with the ground and that they just needed to go slower in the early races."

Nobody at Aintree has walked the track more than Varma but ITV lead commentator Richard Hoiles was out with his walking boots this morning and liked what he saw and how his feet felt.

"There's a really good cover of grass and it's marginally better than I expected," said Hoiles. "They haven't raced here since Boxing Day and it definitely isn't poached wet ground but I obviously don't know what it's like underneath."

Sulekha Varma: "It's going to be hard going out there today"Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

None of us will know until the afternoon's first runners begin galloping at 1.45pm. That said, we can have a pretty confident guess. What is harder to be dogmatic about is what sort of ground will face the Grand National field come 4pm on Saturday.

"It's going to be hard going out there today, and jockeys will need to show a level of sense, but Saturday is still a long way away," said Geraghty. "Everywhere dries quickly this time of year because of the rising temperatures and longer days. If we get a breeze and a bit of sunshine there is plenty of potential for improvement."

Varma does not disagree but points out drying weather could make the ground more tacky and demanding in the build-up to Saturday.

"I think we have to wait because it's difficult to predict how much the track will dry," she said. "Given the right conditions, this place can dry really fast. I think there we will see an improvement but it's going to get harder work in between."

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