Preparations are well underway at Aintree Racecourse for the new 2024/25 National Hunt season at the Merseyside-based racecourse. The opening meeting takes place on the 27th of October with the Old Roan Chase.
A brilliant front-running performance by Frodon and Bryony Frost to land the Monet’s Garden Old Roan Limited Handicap Chase pic.twitter.com/tXzBGu6mbN
— Aintree Racecourse (@AintreeRaces) October 28, 2018
The Old Roan Chase has an impressive roll of honour, with Kauto Star, Monet’s Garden, and Frodon all featuring on the winners’ board. This year’s latest champion could emerge as one of the leading chasers in the sport this season.
Big Targets Early in the Campaign
The entries for the 2024 Old Roan Chase are likely to include some of the best 2-3m chasers in the UK and Ireland. The race is often used as a warm-up for the King George VI Chase at Kempton. Fact To File is currently the 4/1 favourite for those placing racing bets on the Boxing Day feature.
Vive La France
A magnificent display from Il Est Francais who jumps his rivals silly with a breathtaking display in the G1 Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at @kemptonparkrace pic.twitter.com/1V8MFM4eX3
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) December 26, 2023
Il Est Francais is likely to be one of the horse racing betting tips for the 2024 Old Roan Chase should his connections opt to make the trip across for the race in Liverpool. The second-season chaser won the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton in 2023. After the race, the winner’s trainer, Noel George, confirmed the plan was to run in the King George VI Chase in 2024.
Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls holds the joint record for the most victories in the Old Roan Chase. He will be bidding for a fourth success this year and that is likely to come with Hitman, who was runner-up in the race in 2022.
Boxing Day Fixture
Aintree added a new fixture to its calendar last season, with racing coming on Boxing Day at the Merseyside racecourse. It proved to be a huge success, with Aintree getting one of its highest attendances of the year.
The addition of the Boxing Day race meeting is a return to the traditional Christmas racing Aintree offered in the 1950s and 1960s. Last year, they hosted the Grade One Formby Novices’ Hurdle which was won by Jango Baie for former Champion Trainer Henderson.
This year’s meeting will prove an ideal point of the season for some of the leading Cheltenham Festival hopefuls to have at least one more outing before the meeting at the Gloucestershire venue.
Grand National
As ever at Aintree, all roads lead to the Grand National again this season. The world’s most famous steeplechase will take place in April. I Am Maximus won the latest renewal in 2023 for Irish trainer Willie Mullins. The defending champions will be bidding to become only the second horse in the last 50 years to defend its crown next season.
Irish horses have dominated the Grand National in recent years, as five of the last six runnings of the race have been won by horses trained in Ireland. The team from across the Irish Sea will be hoping for more success this season, and they will have a strong hand. Irish Grand National winner Intense Raffles looks set to line up, while Grade Three winner Minella Cocooner could also be saddled by Mullins as he bids for a fourth triumph in the marathon contest.
Aintree will close the 2024/25 National Hunt season with their three-day Grand National Festival between 5-7 April.