Bristol De Mai is back

L Twiston-davies’ grey can benefit from break in Bowl

Bristol De Mai can show the benefit of a mid-season break by downing Might Bite in the Betfair Bowl at Aintree this afternoon.

The race has a history of throwing up the odd shock, and, while Nigel Twiston-davies’ grey winning would not be a huge surprise, he does have plenty of ground to make up on Nicky Henderson’s Gold Cup runner-up from the King George.

However, following his subsequent defeat behind Definitly Red in the Cotswold Chase, Twiston-davies decided he would be better off skipping the Gold Cup, and the Betfair Chase winner underwent a small wind operation.

There appeared to be no excuses at Kempton when Might Bite burned Bristol De Mai off on the second circuit, but, if he was struggling with his breathing, that would go some way to explaining it.

Of course, Might Bite has to prove he is over his battle royal with Native River in the Gold Cup, and with the ground set to be soft again, he might just have the sting taken out of him.

With Buveur D’air out of the way, Supasundae appears to face a pretty straightforward task in the Betway Aintree Hurdle.

Winner of the Irish Champion Hurdle and second to Penhill in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, this two-and-ahalf-mile trip should arguably be his optimum.

His main rivals, The New One and L’ami Serge, were a long way behind at Cheltenham, and My Tent or Yours is not the same horse on soft ground.

The others all have plenty to find on the figures so Supasundae will have to run a long way below par to be turned over. l Friday’s Flat meeting at Leicester has been called off due to waterlogging and false ground.