2011 Aintree Hurdle Betting Tips

This is a real corker of a contest and you really couldn't ask for a more exciting race to help set up the 2011 John Smith's Grand National. 

 

Peddlers Cross and the ever-popular Binocular are the stand-out selections here and both carry relatively short prices into this one. Peddlers was bested by the very dynamic Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham after running a very solid campaign this season. It was the first loss of his entire career and he'll be looking to get things back on track here. It will be interesting to see how that one affected his confidence. 

 

Credibility is provided by the fact that he scored at Aintree last year when capturing a Grade 2 hurdles contest. This is a very talented six year-old who ran a very game race last time out. This one might be coming just a bit too soon but you also have to wonder about whether he can handle an in-form Binocular because when they faced off earlier this season Binocular didn't look his best. 

 

Binocular was one of the more high-profile withdrawals from the festival but he'll be in this one looking for revenge against Peddlers - who got the better of him at Newbury back in November in the Fighting Fifth. 

 

We all know what he can do when he runs his race the right way, but 9/4 is an awfully short price. 

 

Oscar Whisky managed a third place finish the Champion Hurdle and he's being backed at 5/1 on his Aintree debut. It will be his best race yet if he wins, but he's certainly not out of the equation. 

 

Celestial Halo also missed Cheltenham this year and is a bit of a spoiler here. He got his first win in a while during his last run back in February - a Grade 2 contest at Fontwell. The 11/1 price looks pretty sharp but he also looks good on the bottom-end of a forecast selection with any of the top two.