PUNTER POWER
YOUR best chance of beating the bookies this week is to stick with Sportsmail’s brilliant team of tipsters. Here are their picks for Day 2.
GOD’S OWN, never out of the first two in three runs at the track and winner of the Melling Chase 12 months ago, can land the prize again. The course record alone of the Tom George- trained chaser would be enough to make him a big candidate.
He thrives on the spring ground and was putting in a far better effort behind Special Tiara in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham than his fifthplace finish suggests. Adrian Heskin’s mount was launching a threatening challenge when making a bad mistake at the second-last fence.
The George-Heskin combination can start the day with a winner as well with SUMKINDOFKING in the Alder Hey Children’s Charity Handicap Hurdle. I first saw the gelding when he ran in a point-to-point and I believe he has a decent prize in him. My partner runs Sky Khan in the same race and I would not put you off backing him each-way. He is in great form.
STRAIDNAHANNA is a sound jumper and I can see him running well at a decent price in the Topham Handicap Chase.
CAPTAIN HEATH
(Marcus Townend) WHISPER, a dual winner of the Grade One three-mile hurdle at this meeting, saves his best runs for Aintree and can beat Might Bite.
FORMCAST
(Nigel Taylor) FOX NORTON was beaten a head when runner-up to Special Tiara in the Champion Chase. Three of today’s rivals finished behind him in that race.