The Aintree Festival is always one of the big highlights of the National Hunt season and with a fair smattering of Cheltenham Festival winners on show at this year's three-day fixture jumps fans are in for a treat. The second clash within three weeks of the outstanding staying hurdler Big Bucks and his closest foe Grand Crus promises to be a thriller in Thursday's Grade 1 BGC Partners Liverpool Hurdle.
Eleven runners have been declared to face the starter for the extended three-mile contest, a race won for the last two years by the imperious Big Buck's who 12 months ago sauntered to a comfortable long odds-on victory over Souffleur. The Paul Nicholls-trained superstar, (unbeaten in his last 11 races over hurdles at the very highest level), went to Cheltenham last month bidding to land a hat-trick of wins in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle, but punters made David Pipe's up-and-coming Grand Crus a solid second favourite to give the champion a run for his money. The best horse racing odds suggest it should be a very close race.
And that's exactly what Big Buck's got as the pair locked horns going down to the final flight before Big Buck's found that extra gear that sets great horses apart from very good horses, eventually coming home to beat Pipe's gallant grey by a length-and-three-quarters. Battle will be rejoined on Thursday in the opening race of the three-day meeting, Big Buck's likely to be odds-on once again to extend his remarkable winning sequence to 12.
Amongst those set to take their chances against the big two are Coral Cup winner Carlito Brigante, Nigel Twiston-Davies smart two-miler Khyber Kim (who tries three miles for the first time in his career), tough northern raider Knockara Beau, and the capable but enigmatic Karabak, representing Jonjo O'Neill and Tony McCoy.
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