Seven Cheltenham Festival absentees with a score to settle at Aintree

The Cheltenham Festival is over for another year and while we may have to wait 12 months for jump racing's best four days to return, there is plenty of exciting meetings to still look forward to, none more so than Aintree's Grand National meeting.

Plenty of stars on show at Cheltenham will also turn up at Liverpool, but so too will some who skipped engagements at Prestbury Park with a sole aim of Aintree. We have taken a look at who some of them are.

Mildmay Novices' Chase or Manifesto Novices' Chase

One of the more obvious candidates, all roads now to lead to Merseyside with one of Britain's best novice chasers of the season following his dramatic withdrawal from the Brown Advisory last week.

Paul Nicholls pulled the seven-year-old out of the race with just minutes to spare due to testing conditions, after which the trainer criticised Cheltenham clerk of the course Jon Pullin for watering the day before and immediately pointed to Aintree as the next logical target.

Bravemansgame: a dramatic late withdrawal from the Brown AdvisoryCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

The obvious race would be the Mildmay Novices' Chase over 3m1f, but Bravemansgame could drop back to 2m4f for the Manifesto should connections not fancy a potential clash against Brown Advisory one-two L'Homme Presse and Ahoy Senor.

Melling Chase

Another whose chances at Cheltenham were completely scuppered due to Wednesday's deluge, the Dan Skelton-trained star could bid for compensation in the 2m4f Grade 1 chase.

The eight-year-old has not been seen since finishing down the field in the Tingle Creek Chase in December and was agonisingly denied a chance to go one place better in this year's Queen Mother Champion Chase. However, he notoriously goes well fresh and could be cherry ripe for a tilt at the Melling.

He could even be joined in the line-up in the race with stablemate Allmankind, who also missed Cheltenham and is already a course-and-distance winner having won the Old Roan Chase earlier in the season.

Melling Chase

After avoiding another potential dust-up with Allaho in the Ryanair Chase, the Ascot Chase winner could be on course to defend his crown in the Melling Chase over the intermediate trip he thrives at.

The three-time top-level winner demolished the field by 11 lengths last year having ran at Cheltenham previously, but you would expect him to be primed for this year's running and scoop another lucrative prize on British soil.

Ryanair Stayers' Hurdle

A pulled muscle cruelly stopped Sporting John from a potential tilt at the Stayers' Hurdle last week but trainer Philip Hobbs reported him to be aimed at the Aintree-equivalent instead, provided he has recovered from his setback.

Sporting John: missed Cheltenham due to a setbackCredit: Edward Whitaker

The Grade 1-winning chaser has rediscovered his spark over hurdles this term, including a stylish success at Warwick when last seen in January, and may bid to give Hobbs a second successive win in the race, having scored with Thyme Hill last year.

Randox Grand National

The Cheltenham Gold Cup was originally the plan for the Colin Tizzard-trained British hope, but it will now be Aintree or bust for the eight-year-old, who was one of the top novice chasers last season.

Fiddlerontheroof has proved to be a model of consistency and finished outside the first three just once under rules in the 2020 Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

He heads to the National in fine form having finished a narrow second in the Ladbrokes Trophy and the Listed Swinley Chase at Ascot on his latest start.

Mersey Novices' Hurdle

Although she was in contention for the Mares' Hurdle and Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham, Elle Est Belle was somewhat surprisingly held back from running at the festival.

She fared best of the British in last season's Champion Bumper, finishing third behind Sir Gerhard and Kilcruit, and appeared to book her place at Cheltenham with victory in the Sidney Banks at Huntingdon last month.

However, Dan Skelton is keen to wait for Aintree instead – likewise with one-time Arkle hope Third Time Lucki – where the 2m4f trip of the Mersey, which the stable won last year with My Drogo, should play to her strengths.

Elle Est Belle: won her debut race under rules at Aintree under Harry SkeltonCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Skytastic
Mersey Novices' Hurdle or Sefton Novices' Hurdle

Trainer Sam Thomas decided against running his inexperienced novice hurdler at the festival but Aintree is very much on the cards.

Unbeaten in four starts, the Dai Walters-owned six-year-old only made his first start of the season in late January following a setback and Cheltenham was viewed as too great a step at this stage of his career.

He held entries for the Ballymore and the Albert Bartlett and after winning over 2m3½f on his last two starts it is likely to be either the Mersey over two and a half miles or the Sefton over three next month.

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