Gracchus De Balme to strike at Aintree

Gracchus De Balme showed some useful form in Ireland over fences for Joseph O'Brien before being transferred to a new stable, where he won a point-to-point by 12 lengths from a fair yardstick in 2nd. He was then moved to his current yard where he made a fine Hunters Chase debut when 2nd of 6 at Haydock in February behind My Drogo. However Gracchus De Balme was unable to build on that next time at Leicester when he was favourite and never travelled with any fluency on heavy ground. He could well bounce back to form now on better ground and the hustle and bustle of today's race might suit him well. Gracchus De Balme rates a 4 star each way Pick.

Petit Tonnerre was racing in Grade 1 company at this meeting in 2022 and although he has never reached that level he has shown some fair form in handicap hurdles and more recently in handicap chases this season. He was strong at the finish when winning at Doncaster two starts back over 2m, having settled in midfield and tracked the pace. Then last time out he was brought down at the same track when running well. A strongly run 2m handicap should suit Petit Tonnerre really well and he has run well at this track in the past, so it could well be set up for a big run. Petit Tonnerre rates a 3 star each way Pick.