Undersupervision in Aintree Becher Chase
A cracking run by Mahler Mission in the Coral Gold Cup last Saturday, just finding one too good on the day. Hopefully, we can go one better this afternoon as we target the Becher Handicap Chase over the national fences at Aintree.
Nigel Twiston-Davies will be happy the rain gods are smiling at Aintree over the next 24 hours. Undersupervision is a stayer who won the Grimthorpe Chase at Doncaster on soft ground over 3m2f when rated 132. He likes it around Doncaster which bodes well for him taking to Aintree even if this is his first run over the national fences. He ran much better on his second run of the season at the Cheltenham November meeting under a 7lb claimer.
Sam Twiston-Davies is back riding tomorrow, fasting down to a low weight of 10-2 with Undersupervision 2lbs wrong but not a biggie! This year the Becher Chase will take getting with lots of rain forecast in the morning sure to turn the ground heavy. Ashtown Lad won this last year when we had him onside. He has run poorly on his two latest runs and is not a horse I want to take a short price about even if proven over these fences.
Aintree 2:05
1 point each way Undersupervision 9/1 William Hill else 17/2 Paddy Power, Betfair SB & Betway, all 5 places
Past Results
Click to see past Big Saturday Race Preview Tips results
The Becher Chase is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged six years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 3 miles and 2 furlongs (3 miles 1 furlong and 188 yards, or 5,201 metres), and during its running there are twenty-one fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in November or December.
It is run over the same fences as Aintree's most famous race, the Grand National, and it serves as an early-season trial for that event. Two winners have gone on to win the Grand National; Amberleigh House and Silver Birch. Earth Summit won the race in 1998 following his Grand National win the previous April.
One of the obstacles jumped is Becher's Brook, which is named in memory of Martin Becher (1799–1864). The Becher Chase was established in 1992, when a new race meeting was introduced at Aintree. For the twenty years prior to this, the Grand National meeting had been the venue's only horse racing fixture of the year. The Becher Chase was upgraded to Grade Three by the British Horseracing Board (BHA) from its 2014 running and was re-classified as a Premier Handicap from the 2022 running when Grade 3 status was renamed by the BHA.
Winners over past 10 years
| Year | Winner | Age | Weight | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Ashtown Lad | 8 | 11-05 | Harry Skelton | Dan Skelton |
| 2021 | Snow Leopardess | 9 | 10-04 | Aidan Coleman | Charlie Longsdon |
| 2020 | Vieux Lion Rouge | 11 | 10-07 | Conor O'Farrell | David Pipe |
| 2019 | Walk In The Mill | 9 | 10-08 | James Best | Robert Walford |
| 2018 | Walk In The Mill | 8 | 10-03 | James Best | Robert Walford |
| 2017 | Blaklion | 8 | 11-06 | Gavin Sheehan | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 2016 | Vieux Lion Rouge | 7 | 10-09 | Tom Scudamore | David Pipe |
| 2015 | Highland Lodge | 9 | 10-00 | Henry Brooke | James Moffatt |
| 2014 | Oscar Time | 13 | 10–12 | Sam Waley-Cohen[a] | Robert Waley-Cohen |
| 2013 | Chance du Roy | 9 | 10-06 | Tom O'Brien | Philip Hobbs |
Best of Luck,
Nicky