02.04.08 - THE GRAND NATIONAL, RACING AT AINTREE

Star turns at Aintree on day one

Kauto Star, second at last month's Cheltenham Festival, but still rated one of the best chasers of recent years, is one of two headline acts on the opening day of Aintree's John Smith's Grand National meeting on Thursday, April 3.

Inglis Drever, who won the Ladbrokes World Hurdle for a record third time at last month's Festival and can now claim to be the greatest staying hurdler of all time, is the other. He faces 10 rivals in the opening event, the £100,000 Grade Two John Smith's Great Float Social Club Liverpool Hurdle (2pm).

A scarcely-believable performance from Denman dented Kauto Star's fabulous record when the pair met in last month's totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, but the runner-up will take some beating in tomorrow's £160,000 Grade Two totesport Bowl Chase (2.35pm). As a former Cheltenham Gold Cup winner with two King George VI Chases to his name, the Paul Nicholls-trained Kauto Star remains a great horse, but he will have to be at his best when taking on four rivals at Aintree.

This small, highly-select field promises to produce one of the races of the season, for the line-up includes Monet's Garden, who beat Kauto Star in the bonusprint.com Old Roan Chase at Aintree in November when Exotic Dancer, another candidate tomorrow, was third.

Monet's Garden has a fine Aintree record, having won last year's John Smith's Melling Chase, but he now steps up in trip to three miles, one furlong for the first time.

Trainer Nicky Richards has also entered the grey for Friday's John Smith's Melling Chase just in case the ground is too soft to attempt the longer trip the day before.

Our Vic, who won the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham on his latest start, and Kauto Star's stable companion Gungadu, who carried top-weight to victory in February's Racing Post Chase, complete the quintet of runners in a contest that must not be missed.

Inglis Drever's challengers include a quartet he saw off at Cheltenham, namely Blazing Bailey (blinkered for the first time), Chief Dan George, Flight Leader and Lough Derg. Other rivals to the Howard Johnson-trained champion include Ballyfitz who won the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham, Kicks For Free, who was second in the Festival's Coral Cup, and useful French raider Millenium Royal.

A Cheltenham winner and a horse who had to settle for second at that meeting, head  the 10-strong field for the £130,000 Grade 1 John Smith's 250th Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices' Hurdle (3.10pm). Celestial Halo bids to follow up his JCB Triumph Hurdle victory, but he is likely to be eyeballed by Binocular, who finished runner-up in the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices' Hurdle.