Three days at Aintree for Hughes and Skelton as title tussle takes a pause

If there are to be any gains in this season's thrilling title battle between Brian Hughes and Harry Skelton they will almost certainly have to come in the first half of the week with both planning a pause in hostilities for the three-day Grand National meeting, which starts on Thursday.

Both have committed to spending all three days at Aintree, rather than riding elsewhere in search of potentially easier winning opportunities as Hughes did during the Cheltenham Festival – a four-day period in which he rode four winners to Skelton's none.

Hughes currently leads Skelton by two with 134 winners but will not be repeating the trick with the north's leading rider due to receive ample support at the region's biggest meeting.

Waiting Patiently: among Brian Hughes's rides at Aintree this weekCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Hughes's agent Richard Hale said: "We'll be at Aintree all three days, Donald's got a good few runners and that's our first preference. We'll worry about the rest of it from Sunday onwards.

"It's good fun, I've been in this position before on the Flat with Paul Hanagan and it will keep the interest all the way to the end of the season. We're back in front but it's going to ebb and flow and could go either way, there's three weeks to go so we'll see how we get on."

Waiting Patiently, who skipped Cheltenham in favour of the Betway Bowl, would appear Hughes's best chance of a winner at Aintree with bookmakers making the Ruth Jefferson-trained ten-year-old a 4-1 shot for the Grade 1.

In the Randox Grand National, Hughes is on board the Nick Alexander-trained Lake View Lad, a best price 40-1 with bet365 and William Hill.

My Drogo: Harry Skelton's mount in the Top Novices' Hurdle on FridayCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

The Skelton yard will also be strongly represented at Aintree. My Drogo, a 9-4 shot for the Grade 1 Betway Top Novices' Hurdle, is perhaps the most obvious of Harry Skelton's chances and his agent Ian Popham, who only retired from the saddle himself in 2018, added: "We'll definitely be at Aintree all three days.

"From there we'll look to keep rolling and doing what we're doing. It's great fun and a good position to be in, Harry's doing the hard work but we're all doing what we can behind the scenes trying to pick him up as many good outside spares as we can.

"I know Harry's loving being a part of it all, it's a position he's always dreamed of being in. It'd be fantastic if we can do it, but at the same time we'll just keep working hard and doing what we're doing and that's all we can control."

Skelton was due to ride at Hereford on Sunday but the meeting was cancelled due to patches of false ground, while Hughes rode a double at Market Rasen.

Harry Cobden is not yet out of it and after one winner at Chepstow ended Monday on 121 with 18 days until the season finale at Sandown.

Read more on this story . . .

'It's going to be exciting' – Richards helps Hughes regain title-race lead

Dan Skelton will get 'no greater pleasure' than helping brother Harry to title

'I've always dreamed of this' – Skelton draws level with Hughes in title race

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