NIGEL TWISTON-DAVIES could launch a twin-pronged assault as he bids for more Aintree success in Sunday’s totesport.com Becher Chase.
The dual Grand National-winning trainer has both Hello Bud and Irish Raptor entered in the 3m2f contest run over the famous Aintree fences.
Hello Bud landed the Scottish Grand National last season and despite running only last Saturday, when he did well to finish third in the Servo Trophy Handicap Chase at Cheltenham, connections are considering giving him another outing on the second day of the Northwest Master meeting at Aintree.
Irish Raptor will definitely run in the Becher having shown a liking for the National fences when landing the John Smith’s Topham Chase in April.
The 10-year-old warmed up for Sunday’s race by finishing fourth over hurdles at Aintree last month.
Twiston-Davies’ assistant Carl Llewellyn said: “Hello Bud ran a hell of a race at Cheltenham and he has taken it well, so it’s possible he’ll run again in the Becher on Sunday. We also have Irish Raptor in the race and he will probably take his chance.
“He has run well round there a few times but while he has form on soft ground, he maybe is a bit better on good ground as he jumps exceptionally on it. He ran well over hurdles at Aintree last time, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Trainer Charlie Longsdon is also looking forward to seeing how Palypso De Creek, who won over hurdles at Towcester on his first start on Britain, goes over the Grand National fences in the Becher. He said: “We spruced up some of our fences at home to make them more like the National obstacles and he seemed to take to them well – he has always jumped brilliantly.
“I thought that he would need the run over hurdles last time out and I was bit worried that the ground might have been too quick for him. But he’s a horse who has run well over hurdles as a novice in France and, based on that form, he should have won the race fairly easily. He has come on a lot since then and he is going back to fences, which is what he is good at. Obviously, we won’t know for sure until he runs, but it looks like he will get his ideal conditions on Sunday.
“The Grand National is an option for him and we want to see how he takes to the fences.
“If he doesn’t jump them, we will have to scrap those plans, but if he runs well then we will obviously have to consider coming back in April. We will find out a lot more about him on Sunday.”
TODAY’S NAP: El Libertador (7pm Kempton).
