Biddick goes for unusual double in Thursday’s Foxhunters’

A field of 23 is set to line-up in Thursday’s Rose Paterson Randox Foxhunters’ Chase (4.05pm) at Aintree.

Staged in memory of the former Aintree chairwoman, the event has attracted an entry from Ireland’s star hunter Billaway, who finished a close second in the recent St James’s Place Festival Hunters’ Chase at Cheltenham. The winner of that race, Porlock Bay, has been roughed off until next season.

Will Biddick, who trains Porlock Bay, now has the chance of an unusual double, for he has been booked to ride Sametegal for trainer Paul Nicholls in Thursday’s race. Sametegal conceded 3lb to Porlock Bay when beating him by half a length at Wincanton in February, but he was subsequently 12 lengths adrift of The Galloping Bear (receiving 9lb) in a hunters’ chase at Fontwell.

Tom Ellis’s string is in great form, which bodes well for Latenightpass, although he was some 13 lengths behind Billaway at Cheltenham last month.

Nicholls runs two horses, the second being Cat Tiger (to be ridden by David Maxwell), who beat Tango De Juilley (Lucy Turner) and Killaro Boy (Zac Baker) in that order at Leicester early last month – all three are in Thursday’s race. Tango De Juilley went back to Leicester ten days later and won a two-mile hunters’ chase, and while Cousin Pascal was beaten at Leicester in February he made no mistake at Catterick last month – James King will be in his saddle on Thursday, while Henry Crow will ride his Joe O’Shea-trained stablemate Ravished.

Greensalt, who finished third in the 2018 running of the Foxhunters’ Chase (later promoted to second after first-past-the-post Balnaslow was disqualified) is set to run again at the age of 13 under his trainer, Will Easterby, while horses from the stables of Alan and Lawney Hill will line up. Alan trains Kashmir Peak (Daniel Cherriman) while Lawney saddles Clondaw Westie (Izzie Marshall).

Philip Rowley, who won the race with Bear’s Affair when it was last held two years ago, will now saddle Ucello Conti, who pulled up in that year’s race under Jamie Codd, and is now a mount for Ben Bromley.

A string of top Irish amateur riders will take part, with Patrick Mullins riding Billaway and Ireland’s champion point-to-point rider Barry O’Neill partnering Some Man for David Christie’s Northern Ireland stable. Derek O’Connor has been booked for Donald McCain’s Federici, while Johnny Barry is on Looking Well for Nicky Richards. Jamie Codd rides Mighty Stowaway for Denise Foster and expatriate Scot Tom Hamilton, who works in Ireland for Joseph O’Brien, returns to Britain to team up with the Shark O’Hanlon-trained Rewritetherules.

Britain’s champion point-to-point rider, Jack Andrews, renews his lengthening association with Golden Tobouggan.