Jockey Gina Andrews is hopeful that Latenightfumble can earn a bonus of £3,000 with victory in the Goffs UK Spring Sale P2P Bumper Standard National Hunt Flat Race at Aintree on Friday evening (May 14th).
The six year old was bred by Andrews’ mother in law Pippa Ellis and is trained by her husband Tom Ellis and is the only horse in this race who qualifies for the 3-2-1 Bonus, a scheme which aims to reward British-bred mares who began their careers in point-to-point mares races.
Latenightfumble’s family has already shown plenty under Rules, with her full brother Latenightpass proving to be a useful hunter chaser this year, and Andrews is looking forward to the challenge.
She said: “I think she’ll be suited by a bumper. She’s got quite a bit of speed and she stays well, so she should have a good chance hopefully.
“She won very easily in a point last month and then the last time I don’t think she quite stayed over quite a stiff three miles, but we’re hopeful she’ll run well and it would be really nice to land the bonus.”
A competitive seven-race evening card includes the 15-runner Follow @racingtv On Twitter Handicap Hurdle over two and a half miles, in which Tristan Davidson will be hoping to land his first ever Aintree winner with Ask Paddington.
The seven year old benefited from a switch to more patient tactics when producing a career best effort to return to winning ways over this trip at Hexham last month and his trainer he is hopeful that he has a fighting chance with this son of Ask.
He said: “I was really impressed with his run last time - we rode him differently and it seemed to work. I wouldn’t want the ground to get too soft as the key to him is good ground, but he’s come out of the race well and he’s not left his feed.
“It would be nice to win at Aintree. I’ve had a couple of runners there but never had a winner– so we’ll go and take the big boys on!”
Also taking his chance is the Harry Fry-trained Black Mischief, who is due to make his first start for 741 days. The nine year old has shown some useful form at his peak, but his trainer feels he may need the outing after a long lay-off following a tendon injury.
He said: “He returns to the track after a long lay-off. He was meant to run at Newton Abbot but he goes to Aintree with that meeting being abandoned.
“He’s had his problems and it’s a competitive enough race for him to make his return in, but the ground should be perfect and it will be good to just get him back on a racecourse.”
Fry also sends out Sir Ivan in the Watch On Racing TV Handicap Chase over 3m 1f, a horse who arrives here on the back of a game success in a veterans chase at Newbury back in March.
His trainer is hopeful that his ultra-consistent charge can give another account of him here and said: “He’s had a good season, albeit he’s been running predominantly in veteran’s events.
“He steps back into normal handicap company off a career high mark, which will be tough for an 11 year old but he always tries and he’s very consistent so hopefully he won’t be too far away, for all that he might be vulnerable to a younger more progressive horse.”
Elsewhere on the card, the Michael Scudamore-trained Copper Coin will aim for a hat-trick in the opener, the Racing Welfare Supporting Mental Health Awareness Week Novices' Hurdle over an extended three miles.
And his trainer is hopeful that he can run well again here after being given a short break. He said: “He’s done nothing wrong his last two starts over fences and then back over hurdles.
“He’s got a little bit to find on official ratings with Onagatheringstorm but he’s run well around the track before and he handles good ground well, so hopefully he can run very well.
“He’s had plenty of little niggles but his owners who also bred him have been unbelievably patient and it’s nice that he’s finally showing what he can do.”
Scudamore also steps up Isaac Wonder in trip for the racingtv.com Handicap Chase and added: “It’s something we’ve always been playing with and certainly his last two runs over two miles at Newbury and Perth he seemed to be doing his best work at the finish on both occasions, which would suggest a step up in trip is what he’d want.
“He is a bit of a monkey and he has his own idea of things but he seems to go well around flat tracks. Touch wood he jumps well and if he does improve for the step up in trip he should hopefully not be too far away.”
