The Melling Chase has become one of the highlights of the Grand National Meeting in recent years with plenty of top class horses going from the Cheltenham Festival to Aintree for the race. We have had some top class winners of the race in recent years like Albertas Run and Voy Por Ustedes and we are expecting another strong field in 2011. The Race Card for the Melling Chase will be made available at the fiive dayand 48 hour stage of the declarations and will be a comprehensive guide to the Melling Chase.
Race OverviewFINIAN'S RAINBOW and Albertas Run stand out on this season's form in a less competitive renewal than usual. The admirable Albertas Run won this in 2010 and showed himself as good as ever when second in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham last time but last month's Champion Chase win of Finian's Rainbow represents stronger form and, with the evidence of his novice hurdle days suggesting 2m4f should be fine, the younger horse is preferred. [Mel Cullinan]
Odds provided by Paddypower
| No. | Runner | Details | Rating | Odds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Albertas Run (IRE) A P McCoy Jonjo O'Neill | 11 yrs / 164 lbs P12-12 | ||
CommentAlbertas Run
12 in last two runnings; fine Cheltenham second latest; respected
| Date | Race Conditions | Weight | Jockey | Race Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/03/12 | CHL 21Gd Cl1 G1Ch,148K | 164 lbs | A P McCoy | 2/12 1/2l, Riverside Theatre[10/1]11-10 |
| 22/10/11 | Ain 20Gd Cl1 G2ChHc,28K | 154 lbs | A P McCoy | 1/3 1l, Pure Faith[5/2]10-4 |
| 08/04/11 | Ain 20Gd Cl1 G1Ch,99K | 164 lbs | A P McCoy | 2/10 9l, Master Minded[11/4F]11-10 |
| 18/03/11 | CHL 26Gd Cl1 G1Ch,285K | 164 lbs | Richard Johnson | NR/13 Long Run11-10 |
| 17/03/11 | CHL 21Gd Cl1 G1Ch,155K | 164 lbs | A P McCoy | 1/11 1l, Kalahari King[6/1]11-10 |
| 2 |  | Finian's Rainbow (IRE) B J Geraghty N Henderson | 9 yrs / 164 lbs 21-121 |
CommentFinian's Rainbow
One to beat on excellent Champion Chase win; should stay
| Date | Race Conditions | Weight | Jockey | Race Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14/03/12 | CHL 16Gd Cl1 G1Ch,182K | 164 lbs | Barry Geraghty | 1/8 1 1/4l, Sizing Europe[4/1]11-10 |
| 21/01/12 | ASC 17GS Cl1 G1Ch,59K | 161 lbs | Barry Geraghty | 2/8 1 1/4l, Somersby[5/2J]11-7 cheekpiece |
| 27/12/11 | KEM 16Gd Cl1 G2Ch,26K | 159 lbs | Barry Geraghty | 1/6 3/4l, Wishfull Thinking[4/11F]11-6 tongue str |
| 09/04/11 | Ain 16Gd Cl1 NvG1Ch,57K | 158 lbs | Barry Geraghty | 1/7 2l, Ghizao[10/11F]11-4 |
| 15/03/11 | CHL 16Gd Cl1 G1Ch,74K | 161 lbs | Barry Geraghty | 2/10 2 3/4l, Captain Chris[7/2]11-7 tongue str |
| 3 |  | Forpadydeplasterer (IRE) B J Cooper T Cooper | 10 yrs / 164 lbs -23346 |
CommentForpadydeplasterer
2nd in this in 2010; not so good now; up against it
| Date | Race Conditions | Weight | Jockey | Race Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/03/12 | CHL 21Gd Cl1 G1Ch,148K | 164 lbs | Bryan J Cooper | 6/12 15 1/2l, Riverside Theatre[40/1]11-10 |
| 21/01/12 | ASC 17GS Cl1 G1Ch,59K | 161 lbs | Bryan J Cooper | 4/8 11l, Somersby[12/1]11-7 cheekpiece |
| 27/12/11 | LEO 17Gd/Y G1Ch,56K | 166 lbs | Bryan J Cooper | 3/5 6l, Big Zeb[10/1]11-12 |
| 13/11/11 | NAV 16Y/Sft G2Ch,21K | 158 lbs | Bryan J Cooper | 3/5 2l, Big Zeb[8/1]11-12 |
| 13/10/11 | PUN 23Y/Sft G3Ch,17K | 154 lbs | Barry Geraghty | 2/3 16l, Roi Du Mee[4/11F]11-8 |
| 4 |  | Kalahari King (FR) N Fehily F Murphy | 11 yrs / 164 lbs 2P-5P9 |
CommentKalahari King
Formerly high-class but best days now seem to be behind him
| Date | Race Conditions | Weight | Jockey | Race Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/03/12 | CHL 21Gd Cl1 G1Ch,148K | 164 lbs | Noel Fehily | 9/12 47l, Riverside Theatre[40/1]11-10 |
| 19/11/11 | ASC 19Gd Cl1 G2Ch,29K | 155 lbs | Graham Lee | PU/6 Master Minded[15/2]11-11 |
| 05/11/11 | KEL 17Gd Cl2 ChHc,10K | 164 lbs | Graham Lee | 5/7 36 1/2l, Stagecoach Pearl[11/2]10-4 |
| 08/04/11 | Ain 20Gd Cl1 G1Ch,99K | 164 lbs | Graham Lee | PU/10 87 3/4l, Master Minded[9/2]11-10 |
| 17/03/11 | CHL 21Gd Cl1 G1Ch,155K | 164 lbs | Graham Lee | 2/11 1l, Albertas Run[7/1]11-10 |
| 5 |  | Kauto Stone (FR) P Carberry P Nicholls | 6 yrs / 164 lbs 3-127F |
CommentKauto Stone
Very smart but plenty to prove at present
| Date | Race Conditions | Weight | Jockey | Race Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14/03/12 | CHL 16Gd Cl1 G1Ch,182K | 164 lbs | R Walsh | F/8 Finian's Rainbow[14/1]11-10 |
| 18/02/12 | ASC 21GS Cl1 G1Ch,84K | 161 lbs | R Walsh | 7/8 71l, Riverside Theatre[11/4]11-7 |
| 03/12/11 | SAN 16GS Cl1 G1Ch,68K | 161 lbs | R Walsh | 2/7 8l, Sizing Europe[7/2]11-7 |
| 05/11/11 | DRO 20Sft G2Ch,28K | 165 lbs | P Carberry | 1/5 6 1/2l, Roi Du Mee[9/4]11-10 |
| 06/04/11 | Aut 18VSft 5yHd,22K | 148 lbs | Christophe Pieux | 3/9 4 1/2l+, Line Salsa[EvensF]10-1 |
| 6 |  | Poquelin (FR) R Walsh P Nicholls | 9 yrs / 164 lbs 41-5U2 |
CommentPoquelin
Very smart but 3rd best if two principals are in peak form
| Date | Race Conditions | Weight | Jockey | Race Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/03/12 | CHL 21Gd Cl1 G1Ch,148K | 164 lbs | Daryl Jacob | NR/12 Riverside Theatre11-10 |
| 28/01/12 | CHL 21GS Cl1 G3ChHc,23K | 159 lbs | Harry Derham | 2/10 17l, The Giant Bolster[8/1]10-3 |
| 12/11/11 | CHL 20GS Cl1 G3ChHc,85K | 159 lbs | David Prichard | UR/20 Great Endeavour[25/1]10-3 |
| 29/10/11 | WET 25Gd Cl1 G2Ch,57K | 160 lbs | R Walsh | 5/7 40l, Weird Al[3/1]11-6 |
| 13/04/11 | CHL 21Gd Cl1 G2ChHc,23K | 164 lbs | R Walsh | 1/5 3/4l, Holmwood Legend[11/10F]10-1 |
| 7 |  | Pure Faith (IRE) Tom O'Brien P Bowen | 8 yrs / 164 lbs 342P86 |
CommentPure Faith
Not up to this; faster ground preferable
| Date | Race Conditions | Weight | Jockey | Race Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29/03/12 | Ffo 20Gd Cl3 HdHc,5K | 166 lbs | Noel Fehily | 6/11 22 1/4l, Lava Lamp[25/1]11-2 |
| 03/03/12 | DON 16Gd Cl2 ChHc,13K | 163 lbs | Andrew Thornton | 8/8 38 1/2l, Ultimate[12/1]10-6 |
| 19/11/11 | HAY 24GS Cl1 G1Ch,113K | 161 lbs | Tom O'Brien | PU/6 Kauto Star[66/1]11-7 tongue str |
| 23/10/11 | Ain 20Gd Cl3 NvCh,6K | 165 lbs | Jamie Moore | NR/4 Champion Court11-3 |
| 22/10/11 | Ain 20Gd Cl1 G2ChHc,28K | 144 lbs | Tom O'Brien | 2/3 1l, Albertas Run[20/1]11-0 |
| 8 |  | Wishfull Thinking R Johnson P Hobbs | 9 yrs / 164 lbs 16526F |
CommentWishfull Thinking
Not refound last spring's good novice form; risky just now
| Date | Race Conditions | Weight | Jockey | Race Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14/03/12 | CHL 16Gd Cl1 G1Ch,182K | 164 lbs | Richard Johnson | F/8 Finian's Rainbow[16/1]11-10 |
| 21/01/12 | ASC 17GS Cl1 G1Ch,59K | 161 lbs | Richard Johnson | 6/8 34l, Somersby[15/2]11-7 cheekpiece |
| 27/12/11 | KEM 16Gd Cl1 G2Ch,26K | 160 lbs | Richard Johnson | 2/6 3/4l, Finian's Rainbow[100/30]11-5 |
| 03/12/11 | SAN 16GS Cl1 G1Ch,68K | 161 lbs | Richard Johnson | 5/7 38 1/4l, Sizing Europe[3/1]11-7 |
| 12/11/11 | CHL 20GS Cl1 G3ChHc,85K | 160 lbs | Richard Johnson | 6/20 31 3/4l, Great Endeavour[7/2F]10-3 |
