Grand National Festival tips: Aintree 3.25 trends – we help you find the winner of the Melling Chase
MELLING CHASE
Key trends:
- A past win or place at Aintree is important
- All winners ran in the Queen Mother Chase or Ryanair Chase last time
- A Grade 1 win is vital
- Stick with nine-year-olds and younger
THE first runner to go is God’s Own because he has a mountain to climb trying to win this race as an 11-year-old.
On the plus side he has won this contest before but he hasn’t matched that form of 2016 for a good while now.
The trend to have run in the Queen Mother Champion Chase or Ryanair at the festival last time is strong so Woodland Opera and the fancied Waiting Patiently have a major negative on that score.
His best form gives him a chance but that’s a major negative to overcome on the stats.
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Top Notch is back over fences having run in the Stayers’ Hurdle last time out. He is a past Grade 1 winner which is a plus but others have stronger claims.
We’re left with three horses that ran in the Champion Chase last time — Politologue, Min and Hell’s Kitchen.
Trends tip for the Melling Chase
The last named has yet to win in better than Class 2 and, while he’s clearly improving, that gives him a major gap to bridge today.
POLITOLOGUE won this race 12 months ago in front of Min and the popular grey finished well ahead of the Irish raider at Cheltenham last time. He can retain his crown today.