Aintree & Doncaster selections Saturday 7th November
We have the final day on turf for the flat season at Doncaster today, where I have two hopefuls for the big betting race, the November Handicap. However most focus will be on Aintree for a high class jumping card. Pic D’Orhy was a winner for us last weekend (advised 5/4) whilst Brookie was placed for the each-way bet (advised 12/1).
Aintree 1.15: Sans Bruit
Dan Skelton has thrown a curveball here by running Kadastral, who has only raced over hurdles four times and makes his chasing debut today. If he is a good jumper he could win this on the bridle, but at such short odds, I am going to oppose him with the far more experienced SANS BRUIT.
He returns to the track where he won both the 2024 and 2025 Red Rum Chases at the National meeting (and was third in the 2026 renewal), and just happens to be coming here off the exact same mark of 130 that he won both those races off. Claimer Jay Tidball takes an additional 5lbs off to ease his burden further.
He has had a wind op this summer, his first since starting to race for Paul Nicholls, which might produce a stronger finishing effort than is sometimes the case. Although there are a couple of potential fellow pacesetters, this horse has the class and the jumping ability to burn them off and put some of the younger chasers under pressure a long way out. Nicholls is in decent form at present so I am hopeful that Sans Bruit can make a winning return on his favoured good going.
Aintree 3.00: Lihyan & Heather Honey
I am hopeful that I might have found a bit of each-way lurking here down the bottom of the handicap.
First choice is definitely LIHYAN who might not have won at Aintree before, but has run some cracking races here including two third places at the October meeting. He was far from disgraced in seventh in the 3m handicap at the National meeting in the spring, having to race off what was effectively a 6lbs higher mark than today.
He looks much better suited to a flat track, winning at Newbury in March, with other wins coming around the likes of pan flat Huntingdon and Musselburgh. I am not concerned about his two races this autumn around Hexham and Cheltenham where the stiff finish does not seem to play to his strength. The good going is what he wants, and those two runs should have at least put him spot on fitness wise.
HEATHER HONEY shaped well on her reappearance in that same Hexham race as Lihyan, travelling well into the straight before fading, seemingly in need of the run. That should have blown away the cobwebs and she had a cracking season last winter, winning four times at Bangor (twice), Catterick and Haydock, all sharp left-handed tracks like here.
She was only fourth to rival Walden at Haydock in April but is 7lbs better off today and she had probably had enough by the time she lined up for what was her final race of the campaign. The Parkinson/Smith team are beginning to kick into gear for the new campaign, but their horses tend to come on for the first run, so that could well be the case again with Heather Honey.
Doncaster 3.25: Lord Melbourne & Stressfree
There could be a couple of totally unexposed horses in Nobody Knows and Alfred Wincham here that could dominate, but with little wriggle room at their current odds, I am looking at two bigger priced alternatives.
LORD MELBOURNE is a standing dish in this race having won this off 90 in 2024 and finishing sixth off 103 last season on what was only his second start of the year. He gets in off 97 today with Harry Vigors taking off a valuable 5lbs and he looked to be running into form at just the right time when finishing strongly for third over 10f at York last month on his favoured soft ground.
He has improved with every run this term and could well have been campaigned with this very race in mind, given his proven record in the race and the safe knowledge that soft ground would prevail today. He is still only six and whilst a draw of 21 might normally be a disadvantage, it could be a bonus today on a part of the course that is likely to be less chopped up that the ground towards the inside that has been raced on all year.
STRESSFREE has not won since scoring at Haydock in May 2025 from a mark of 97, but he has finally dropped to a mark below that level now and ran a fine race off 103 when fifth in this last season. It is not as if he appears regressive as he picked up good prize money when sixth in the Ebor in August.
Since then he has finished fourth at Haydock and fifth at Chester, both in races where his hold up style were not seen to best effect. However this track with a long run-in will play more to his strengths and his course record reading 223745 suggest he should not be far away again from his declining rating.
Aintree 3.35: Rodney
A horse on a steep uphill curve since joining Kerry Lee, RODNEY might not have reached his limit yet and I am hopeful he will be fit enough to resume winning ways on his first start of this term.
His record is 5-8 for Lee and it would have been six but for falling at the last at Bangor on his reappearance at this time last year. That run proved he could handle good going, as it was when winning at Leicester at Christmas.
From there he went onto soft ground victories at Ludlow and Hereford before finishing up with a solid second at Newbury. Clearly he will need to taken on higher grade opponents this season, but he gets a nice racing weight of 11-0 today and could provide each-way value.
Recommended bets:
1pt each-way – Sans Bruit – 1.15 Aintree – 4/1 general (most bookies 1/5 odds 1st 3)
1pt each-way – Lihyan – 3.0 Aintree – 16/1 general (most bookies 1/5 odds 1st 4)
0.5pts each-way – Heather Honey – 3.0 Aintree – 20/1 general (most bookies 1/5 odds 1st 4)
1pt each-way – Lord Melbourne – 3.25 Doncaster – 17/2 William Hill (1/5 odds 1st 5)
0.5pts each-way – Stressfree – 3.25 Doncaster – 16/1 Bet365 (1/5 odds 1st 6)
1pt each-way – Rodney – 3.35 Aintree – 12/1 Bet365, Skybet, Paddy Power (1/5 odds 1st 4)
