Saturday Racing Tips at Kelso, Wincanton and Aintree | Jake Price

Already a successful NAP for us this season, we’re going back to the well once again with Lucinda Russell’s Choose A Copper.

This 6-year-old made a great start to life over fences at Hexham last month, jumping beautifully and staying on strongly to beat Dare To Shout (128+) by a length and a half. That rival has since boosted the form at Carlisle on Sunday by winning a Novice Handicap Chase, and I’d be hopeful our selection can continue his progression having only been raised 4lbs in the ratings.

Perhaps it will prove foolish to take on Rubaud here, but he carries the maximum penalties and won an absolute joke of an Elite Hurdle last season. This looks a much tougher assignment up against Aspire Tower though.

Rated as high as 160 in his hey-day having finished 2nd in a Triumph Hurdle and 4th in a Champion Hurdle, he unfortunately suffered a bad injury which kept him off the track for 902 days. Last season he finally returned and went Chasing where he ran some nice races, but he returned to Hurdles last month at Punchestown with a victory over 2m2½f. He will stay Hurdling now, and if retaining his ability, he surely has a huge chance here receiving 6lbs from the favourite.

Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero won this last season with the very sadly ill-fated Gesskille, but they look to have another very similar type this season in GABORIOT.

This 8-year-old was another French recruit who needed time to acclimatise to life in Britain, but last season he turned a new leaf – recording five victories, two in Handicap Chases and three in Hunters Chases. Most significantly he ran in the Foxhunters at Aintree over this C&D in April where he really took to the fences, but sadly he unseated his inexperienced rider at the canal turn before jumping the test of the course and finishing in front riderless. He clearly loved the fences then, and now with the more experienced Henry Brooke aboard he surely has strong claims off bottom weight.