Ross Millar: Monday tips and Aintree reflections

Never has the phrase ‘horses for courses’ been more apt than for I Am Maximus and the National course at Aintree. The horse that finds jumping none too easy has now completed the course three times, taking his record to two wins and a second, in doing so becoming the first horse since Red Rum to regain his National crown.

He certainly wasn’t foot-perfect again on Saturday, and I’m sure some will use this to bemoan the new sanitised version, but under a ride of intuition and intelligence, he set sail with tremendous gusto from the final fence to overhaul the eventual third Jordans, before comfortably repelling the strong finishing Iroko. Johnnywho ran into fourth to give owner J P McManus three of the first four home.

As when he won it in 2024, winning trainer Willie Mullins once again suggested that I Am Maximus is a Gold Cup calibre horse. It’s hard to know whether he’s just being mischievous, his form in Grade One’s would suggest he isn’t, or whether he’s just aware that I Am Maximus is a horse that finds his best form at this time of the year. Either way, there’s very little chance that connections will prioritise a trip to Cheltenham over the very real chance of winning a third Grand National next year. 

Iroko ran another fine race improving on his fourth place from last year and will surely have his campaign next season geared around a return trip though he is going to invariably become less well handicapped.

I’m sure the connections and supporters of Jordans were left wondering what might have been. At the rear of the field jumping the canal turn for the second time, Ben Jones inexplicably had him five lengths clear off the home turn, having posted a thirteen-second furlong in that period.

The jockey was defensive of this move in his post-race interview, when of course the adrenaline will still have been pumping, but I’m sure on reflection he’ll acknowledge it was poor execution on his part, but that’s top-level sport, mistakes do happen.

Of the beaten horses, Champ Kiely shaped like a well-handicapped horse before his stamina gave way. His trainer is not adverse to running his charges again after Aintree and he’d appeal if taking his chance over shorter than this in the coming weeks.

Fakenham has the jumps action on Monday, live on Racing TV, and I have three selections.

She’s probably been unfortunate to bump in to a pair of well-handicapped rivals on her last two starts. In February at Leicester, she failed by only two lengths to concede 15lb to Fay Ce Que Voudras. That mare has gone on to win her next two starts and is now a stone higher in the handicap.

Then, in March, she was unfortunate to bump into Sweet Nightingale, this time going down by ten lengths when conceding 19lb. Sweet Nightingale was third on her next start off an 8lb higher mark, with an inefficient rider hampering her winning chance.

She can gain deserved compensation here off a fair looking mark of 95.

Olly Murphy’s daughter of No Risk At All was a shade disappointing on her latest start at Market Rasen when failing to overcome the 8lb rise she’d earned in the handicap for a convincing win gained on her penultimate start at Huntingdon. 

She was, however, dropping back in trip on better ground, and I think these factors, rather than the elevated handicap mark, were the more pertinent factors for her defeat.

She’s since had wind surgery and now steps up significantly in trip. I’m confident she has more to offer under these conditions.

Despite lacking fluency in his jumping, Prince Cleni was, to my mind, still in with a chance when unseating Jack Tudor at the last at Hereford on his most recent start. He showed a tendency to jump to his left on that occasion and it’s potentially noteworthy that all three of his wins have come going left-handed.

He’s a strong stayer and is well suited by a sound surface, and this mark of 82 is the same mark his last win came off. He can land this and make it a double for his trainer.