Grand National Festival: Cocktails At Dawn the Topham value

David Metcalf | April 6, 2016

Cocktails looks tasty in Topham Chase

Trainer Nicky Henderson has a tremendous record in the Crabbie’s Topham Chase, and his Cocktails At Dawn looks decent each-way value in this year’s renewal of the 2m 5f contest on day two of the Grand National Festival at Aintree (16:05).

The Seven Barrows handler has won the race five times, including each of the last three runnings.

In Cocktails At Dawn, Henderson has a classy eight-year-old who has won two of his seven starts over fences and jumps for fun.

This gelding likes to bowl along at the head of affairs, and was very impressive on his seasonal reappearance at Chepstow when making all to easily beat As De Mee by three lengths.

Chepstow form makes for solid reading

Although then not at his best next time up when just 14th of 20 in a valuable contest at Cheltenham, Cocktails At Dawn has since been given a break and saved for this.

His win at Chepstow shows that he goes well fresh, and the form of that race has worked out very well.

The third home, Native River, has gone on to finish an excellent second in the 4m National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, and the fourth home Blaklion landed the Grade 1 RSA Chase at the four-day Prestbury Park spectacular.