Sport : Horse Racing

Racecard

Aintree - Sat 14th Apr 2012
13:10 13:45 14:15 14:50 15:25 16:15 17:05 17:35

13:45 John Smith's Mersey Novices' Hurdle 2m 4f
Weighed In - (Class 1), £50,000 added, 4yo+, 10 runners
Winner £28,475 2nd £10,685 3rd £5,350 4th £2,665
Going: Good Surface: Turf
Simonsig (1.45) Sprinter Sacre (2.15) Oscar Whisky (2.50) Synchronised (4.15) - 45/1

Result
Full result

Weighed In
Winning time: 4m 55.00s
Off time: 13:45:32

Pos	Horse	Odds
1st	Simonsig	4/9
2nd	Super Duty (IRE)	7/1
3rd	Baby Shine (IRE)	12/1

No	Form	Horse	A	Wgt	Jockey	Trainer	OR	SP
1	1-11	Aland Islands (IRE) 42	6	11-4	A P McCoy	Tim Vaughan	137	8/1
2	1212F0	Colour Squadron (IRE) 32	6	11-4	R Johnson	P J Hobbs	141	12/1
3	214506	Flycorn (IRE) 48	6	11-4 t	P Townend	T Hogan	132	100/1
4	2/4-851	Go All The Way (IRE) 27	7	11-4	A E Lynch	J T R Dreaper		20/1
5	02231U	Maggio (FR) 59	7	11-4	J Reveley	P Griffin	120	100/1
6	20-1110	Molotof (FR) 29	5	11-4	R Walsh	N J Henderson	143	14/1
7	41621	Old Tricks (IRE) 37	5	11-4	J Tizzard	C L Tizzard	129	50/1
8	1-11211	Simonsig 31	6	11-4	B J Geraghty	N J Henderson	157	4/9
9	1-11F1	Super Duty (IRE) 56	6	11-4	J M Maguire	D McCain Jnr	138	7/1
10	1134-12	Baby Shine (IRE) 59	6	10-11	L Aspell	Mrs L Wadham	128	12/1

Verdict

Neither Colour Squadron nor Molotof were at their best at Cheltenham and both have yet to prove they stay this far unlike SIMONSIG. Nicky Henderson's grey didn't appear to take much out of himself when lengthening clear of a useful field over 2m5f at The Festival and it will take a smart performance to lower his colours here. Super Duty could be the biggest danger as he's a three-times winner over this trip though the horse he beat at Ascot last time, Keys, is proving a big disappointment. Aland Islands is unbeaten in three runs under Rules to date but this is by far his most difficult task to date and he's likely to find at least a couple of these too strong while the mare Baby Shine also has a bit to find on the book.

Formwatch

Aland Islands (IRE) 5-2fav (11-9) Prominent, went 2nd 3 out, joined leader 2 out, soon led, stayed on well, won at Doncaster 2m 3f nh nov hdl (4) gd in Mar beating Amron Lad (10-13) by 7l, 10 ran.

Colour Squadron (IRE) 14-1 (11-7) Mid-division, outpaced 2 out, chased leaders under pressure on inside before last, weakened flat, 13th of 19, 17l behind Cinders And Ashes (11-7) at Cheltenham 2m nov hdl Grade 1 (1) gd in Mar.

Flycorn (IRE) 25-1 (11-5) Always towards rear, no threat from 2 out, kept on one pace, 6th of 8, 9l behind Felix Yonger (11-5) at Naas 2m nov hdl G2 (1) sft in Feb.

Go All The Way (IRE) 7-2 (11-12) Made virtually all, strongly pressed and joined between final 2, led again last and kept on best run-in, won at Navan 2m 4f mdn hdl sft in Mar beating Rear View (11-11) by 1 1/4l, 8 ran.

Maggio (FR) 11-2 (11-4) Tracked leader, blundered and unseated rider 2nd, in a race won by Bellvano (11-4) at Kelso 2m 1f nov chs (2) gs in Feb, 4 ran.

Molotof (FR) 11-1 (11-9) Tracked leaders, ridden and lost place 2 out, soon weakened, 13th of 24, 29l behind Attaglance (11-3) at Cheltenham 2m 4f Conditional Handicap Hurdle (0-145) (4yo+) (2) gd in Mar.

Old Tricks (IRE) 4-6fav (11-1) Tracked leader, led before 2 out, readily clear when pushed along before last, ridden out, won at Wincanton 2m mdn hdl (4) gs in Mar beating Black Pond (10-7) by 6l, 11 ran.

Simonsig 2-1fav (11-7) Held up in touch in mid-division, closed after 4th, hit 6th, went 2nd 3 out, challenging when left in lead 2 out, clear before last, easily, won at Cheltenham 2m 5f nov hdl Grade 1 (1) gd in Mar beating Felix Yonger (11-7) by 7l, 17 ran.

Super Duty (IRE) 7-1 (11-8) Made all, joined 2 out, ridden and strongly pressed last, found extra and stayed on gamely to assert final 100 yards, won at Ascot 2m 3f nov hdl (2) gs in Feb beating Keys (11-0) by 1 3/4l, 10 ran.

Baby Shine (IRE) 3-1 (11-3) Prominent, badly hampered on inside when about to challenge before 2 out and lost momentum, ran on flat, just failed, 2nd of 14, ns behind It's A Gimme (11-10) at Southwell 2m 4f nh nov hdl (4) gs in Feb.