Brian Hughes: Max Of Stars is in the form of her life
Friday at Sandown
My only ride on Friday is Dreams Of Home (1.15 pm) in the handicap chase over 1m7f, who has dropped a lot in the handicap so he could go okay. He’s been largely consistent for most of his life, running well last time out at Musselburgh, where he was third. He needed the run there, but I rode him on Wednesday and he felt well in himself, so he wouldn’t be without a chance. Dreams Of Home got top-weight but has won off higher marks in the past, so fingers crossed he can put in a decent showing.
Saturday at Aintree
Wild Grouse (11.10 am) is my first ride of the day in the novices’ hurdle. He was a soft ground Point-to-Point winner and is another who would have needed the run last time. Aintree should be a course that suits him, but I’m sure that whatever he does on Saturday, he will improve again. He’s going well at home and doesn’t mind the ground, so it could go nicely.
Two runs ago, I was third on My Brother Jack (12.20 pm) at Market Rasen and rode him in the novices’ handicap hurdle. We’re trying him over three miles for the first time at a stiff track like Aintree, and we will have to ride him conservatively to get the trip. He is a Flat winner over 1m5f, so there are grounds for optimism that he’ll stay.
Burrows Diamond (12.55 pm) runs in the Listed Mares’ Chase and has to bounce back from a below-par effort last time at Market Rasen. She won’t mind the ground, though, and with only five runners we’re optimistic she can pick up some black type.
I then ride Richmond Lake (1.30 pm) in the handicap chase who’s just had a lack of opportunity over fences, which explains why we ran him over hurdles last time at Wetherby. We’re going back to 2m5f, and he doesn’t mind the soft ground and will certainly improve for that run last time. He’s won his last three and is hopefully going there with every chance.
My final ride of the day is on Max Of Stars (2.40 pm) in the Listed juvenile hurdle, who came second in a Listed race the other day at Newbury behind Gordon Elliott’s Wodhooh. She is being turned out quickly after that run, but we wouldn’t be doing that if we didn’t think she was up to it. I would be slightly worried about the rain forecast as we’ve never really tested her on soft ground, but again, we don’t know until we’ve tried it. She’s in the form of her life and we hope she runs a big race.
