Fresh Kemboy can give Mullins another Bowl
THERE is no mistake that currently the Irish have the upper hand in National Hunt racing.
Tornado Flyer’s dominant victory in the King George and a clean sweep of all four championship races at the Cheltenham Festival were further evidence that they are streets ahead of their British counterparts at the moment.
It’s certainly a predicament British trainers will be keen to amend, but in all honesty, I don’t see it changing any time soon.
Irish-trained horses have a good recent record at Aintree – you just have to look to the result of last year’s Grand National for proof of that – and I expect a similar trend to continue starting this afternoon with KEMBOY in the Betway Bowl (2.55pm).
A dominant nine-length winner of this race in 2019, the 10-year-old is probably not quite the horse he was back then, but that’s not to say he isn’t still a talented animal on his day.
A perfect example of such is his close third in the Savills Chase over Christmas where he went down by less than a length to Galvin and Cheltenham Gold Cup hero A Plus Tard.
Considering the former won the Cheltenham blue ribband by 15 lengths, the fact Kemboy got to within a length of him is no mean feat and that is arguably the strongest piece of form on offer here.
I thought it was interesting that Willie Mullins deliberately didn’t take him to Prestbury Park and targeted this race ever since he ran in the Irish Gold Cup.
Granted he didn’t run too well there but it was a funny race and I’d be prepared to draw a line through it.
He arrives here a fresh horse and I have a feeling his jockey Paul Townend will make as much use of him as possible, similarly to what Ruby Walsh did when on board for his victory in 2019.
It’s clearly a competitive contest and claims can be made for plenty, namely Protektorat, who ran a great race when third in the Gold Cup.
He must have had a hard race that day, though, and I’d much prefer to side with the fresher horse in Kemboy, particularly with three places on offer each-way.
The Mullins raider looks the play here at 5/1 with Star Sports.
I’m hoping for more Irish joy in the ensuing Betway Aintree Hurdle (3.30pm) as I fancy Gordon Elliott’s ZANAHIYR.
The five-year-old looked the best juvenile hurdler around last season, but was disappointing in a steadily run Triumph Hurdle, and while he’s run well against the likes of Sharjah and Honeysuckle so far this season, he hasn’t quite been good enough to challenge them.
The most recent of those near misses came in the Champion Hurdle where he travelled really nicely before being outpaced on the run-in, suggesting he’d really thrive on a step up in trip.
He gets that here and that swings the pendulum in his favour as I’m unsure it’s what main market rival Epatante is crying out for.
The form of the Elliott yard is a concern, but several of his horses have been placed in recent days, so I’m not reading too much into it.
With doubts about Epatante’s stamina, Zanahiyr is the one to be with at 15/8.
POINTERS
Kemboy e/w 2.55pm Aintree
Zanahiyr 3.30pm Aintree