Aintree Festival 2023: Village Hotels Handicap Hurdle tips - West Balboa ready to step up
- Tipstrr writer
- 15 April 2023
The second race of day three sees a 22-strong field go to post, and hopefully we can narrow that field down a little with the help of our friends at Tipstrr.
Run over an extended three miles and with 13 hurdles to contend with, the Village Hotels Handicap Hurdle is a demanding test for both horse and jockey.
The best to pass that test last year was Party Business, whose pace strung out the field to win at odds of 11/2 under Charlie Todd.
This year's renewal appears to be a potential duel between market leaders Good Time Jonny and West Balboa, with the former carrying top weight as a penalty for winning the Pertemps at the Cheltenham festival.
That leaves
West Balboa 12 pounds to the good, and he appears to have been primed for this race by the Skelton yard, having not been seen since winning the Lanzarote Hurdle in impressive style at Kempton in January.
That was on heavy ground, so he should not be fazed by the step up in trip here and Harry Skelton should enjoy a bold ride on him.
With up to seven places up for grabs, it's potentially a good race to benefit from some each-way value.
Mexico and An Taillur are both strong contenders who would return a place profit, while Itchy Feet was not disgraced in the Pertemps at Cheltenham but might struggle under the weight.
Our pin is hovering over Gordon Elliott's
Au Fleuron, who looks well treated in the weight, has an extra three-pound claimer on board and looked one of the stronger finishers when coming a never-nearer eighth in the Martin Pipe at Cheltenham.
