The Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase is the first of three races that is run over the Grand National fences at the Aintree Festival in April. Our betting experts have revealed their tips for the race and we can also reveal £200 in free bets via sign up offers from UK betting sites.
Aintree Open Hunters’ Chase betting offers & free bets
There’s a whole range of racing to look forward to from Thursday to Saturday at Aintree, including the 2026 Grand National, and that means you should sign up to some of the best betting sites now.
The sign-up offer from Tote is one that always stands out with a strong offering of £40 in free bets from a stake of just £10.
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Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase Betting Tips
Run on the opening Thursday of the three-day event, it is a race restricted to amateur riders and is run over a distance of 2m5f with a maximum field of 30.
Snow might be vulnerable
John O’Shea has won two of the last five runnings of this contest and has obvious claims once again with recent Cheltenham Festival winner Barton Snow likely to accompany reigning champion, Gracchus De Balme.
The former, who bids for his eighth win in a row, travelled notably well under Henry Crow at Cheltenham and was always doing enough to hold the rallying Its On The Line on the run-in.
However, that was a gruelling race for both the first and second and it might just have left its mark. At 3/1 and 5/1 respectively, better value lies elsewhere.
Ambition has strong claims
Pat Doyle’s LIFETIME AMBITION ran a big race to finish third behind the reopposing Gracchus De Balme and Jet Plane in this race last year and he is likely to be on the premises again, judged on an encouraging effort from the 11-year-old at Thurles in January.
A five-time winner from 30 starts under rules, the highlight being a Grade 3 novices’ chase at Limerick in March 2022, he has done exceptionally well in points, only once finishing outside the first two in 13 tries, a sequence that includes seven victories.
Sent off at odds of 5/1 for last year’s renewal, he raced wide under Rob James and found himself a bit further back than ideal at halfway, but he gradually picked off rivals and was finishing arguably best of all, beaten a total of only two-and-a-quarter lengths.
A good second behind the progressive Panda Boy, who won again next time before finishing fifth at the Cheltenham Festival, at Thurles in January, he should be spot on for this and looks the pick of his stable’s two runners.
- Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase tip 1: Selection: Lifetime Ambition @ 10/1
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Party time?
Poised for a first trainer’s championship following a record-breaking season (has broken through the £4m in prize money barrier), Dan Skelton could be as many as three-handed in this race, with last year’s runner-up Jet Plane, Snipe and UNEXPECTED PARTY all holding entries.
All warrant respect, but the latter appeals most of that trio, having impressed in his two wins in this sphere, most recently when landing the prestigious Walrus Open Hunters’ Chase at Haydock in February.
A former winner of the Grand Annual over 2m at the Cheltenham Festival, he has run to Racing Post Ratings of 138 and 139 both at Taunton and Haydock, and the decision to bypass Cheltenham due to stamina concerns means he is coming here much fresher than the majority of his rivals.
- Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase tip 2: Next Best: Unexpected Party @ 4/1
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