N.H. racing and Irish racing this evening

Aintree stages quite an attractive card this evening, while there is also Irish jumps racing at Downpatrick, and an Irish flat meeting (including 3 bumpers) at Wexford. The 2 mile handicap chase at 20.40 CET at Aintree is a very open race, but we give slight preference to top-weight Stan (Venetia Williams/ Aidan Coleman), who appears to be coming back to form, and was only narrowly beaten last time at Ffos Las.

The 2 1/2 mile handicap hurdle at 21.40 looks even more difficult with 18 runners (one of the favourites Willandrich has dropped out) - Still at Lunch (Kate Walton/ Richard McGrath) and Forget It (Gary and Jamie Moore) are our two against the field. The last-named landed a gamble at Fontwell last week, his first ever win; he probably needs to improve further to win this, but this does not seem impossible. In Ireland, we expect Anaverna (Dermot Weld/ Pat Smullen), runner-up to a smart type last time, to win the 3yo fillies maiden at Wexford at 18.40.