Ted's Weekend Treble: Aintree's Old Roan

Aintree's Old Roan meeting takes centre stage on Sunday, and this should be a wonderful afternoon of action. Ed Quigley sets the scene with his three best bets on the card.

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Aintree - 1.15 Spadestep

SPADESTEP is an exciting prospect for the Lucina Russell and Michael Scuadmore partnership, and can get the job done at the first time of asking over fences in the hands of Derek Fox. The son of Jukebox Jury bolted up at Hexham in a Novice Hurdle last time out, and looks up to this tougher challenge as he goes over the larger obstacles for the first time.

He may get further towards the end of the season, but looks to have plenty of boot for now, and could easily be ahead of a mark of 114 for one so unexposed.

This small field should allow him to take a nice cut at his fences, and underfoot conditions should be spot-on. It's a trappy little encounter, but I like the claims of Spadestep to make a successful start to his chasing career. 

Read our full William Hill Showcase at Cheltenham betting preview

Aintree - 1.50 Torn And Frayed

Naturally, there are lots of familiar friends in the line-up for this Veteran's Chase over 3m1f. It's a fairly wide-open encounter, but I think this can go the way of the Twiston-Davies team with TORN AND FRAYED.

The yard is in scintillating form at the moment, and the 11-year-old still looks fairly handicapped off a mark of 128, with trip and ground to suit. He struggled in this race last year, but that was his seasonal reappearance, whereas this time around he already has a run under his belt, when finishing third at Chepstow recently.

Traditionally he has often stripped fitter for the outing, so he should be spot-on for this encounter, where I can see him running a big race with Sam Twiston-Davies in the saddle. 

You can find Ted's tips for Day 2 of the William Hill Showcase here.

Aintree - 2.55 Imperial Saint

When it comes to course specialists, IMPERIAL SAINT is one horse who is towards the top of the list. Philip Hobbs & Johnson White have trained an individual who thoroughly enjoys Liverpool, as a record of 1112 at the venue would underline.

He is one-from-one over course and distance, and the only time he was beaten at the track was at the Grand National meeting, when possibly his stamina was stretched too far when second over 3m1f. This looks much more his bag, and off a mark of 144, this unexposed seven-year-old could easily be open to further improvement.

He has a very good record when fresh, so one would imagine that the Minehead team will have him firing on all cylinders for his seasonal return. Sean Houlihan takes the ride, and this combination could take some stopping. 

Ted's Treble for Sunday

Aintree - 1.15 Spadestep

Aintree - 1.50 Torn And Frayed

Aintree - 2.55 Imperial Saint

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Odds correct at the time of writing.