10.11.08 - RACING AT AINTREE

The countdown to North West Racing Masters has officially begun...

Following its successful inauguration in 2005, the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, November 22 and 23, 2008, sees the fourth running of the Northwest Racing Masters.

An exciting addition to the jumping calendar, the Northwest Racing Masters involves top-class racing at both Haydock Park and Aintree. The weekend has quickly established itself as a popular event with the racing fraternity and the public. Haydock Park hosts the £225,000 Grade One Betfair Chase on the first day of the Northwest Racing Masters, which was won in great style by Kauto Star for the second year running in 2007.

He brushed aside a high class field in 2006 to come home 17 lengths clear of Irish raider Beef Or Salmon. Kauto Star remained unbeaten all season and captured the Betfair Million bonus for also winning the Stan James King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day and the totesport Gold Cup at Cheltenham in March.

Exotic Dancer, who finished two and a half lengths behind Kauto Star in the Gold Cup, reduced that margin to half a length in the 2007 Betfair Chase but was always being held, with Beef Or Salmon another 18 lengths back in third and horses of the class of Turpin Green and My Way De Solzen further in arrears.

A cracking first Betfair Chase in 2005 also attracted a high-class field and the Robert Alner-trained Kingscliff beat the Irish pair of Beef Or Salmon and Kicking King, who started favourite and had won the Cheltenham Gold Cup the previous season.

The second day of the Northwest Racing Masters takes places at Aintree with a thrilling race programme that includes the £120,000 totesport.com Becher Chase and the £80,000 totesuper7 Grand Sefton Chase, both run over the Grand National course. This makes the day unique as it is the only raceday to feature two races over the Grand National fences. See the following copy for details of these races.

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls has dominated the totesport.com Becher Chase for the past two years, scoring with Eurotrek in 2006 and Mr Pointment last year. Both horses went on to contest the John Smith’s Grand National.

Subsequent John Smith’s Grand National winners Amberleigh House (Becher 2001, GN 2004) and Silver Birch (Becher 2004, GN 2007) both won the totesport.com Becher Chase prior to landing the world’s greatest chase while the 2003 victor Clan Royal finished second behind Amberleigh House in the Grand National. The 1998 winner Earth Summit had won the Grand National the previous season.