'He ran a great race in the Gold Cup' - Aye Right and Good Boy Bobby star in competitive Veterans' Chase Series opener

Two seasons ago he was running in the Gold Cup. The last time we saw him he was finishing fourth in a Grade 1, won by no lesser animal than Shishkin.

Now, courtesy of the Veterans' Chase Series which gives grand old-timers stuck between a rock and a hard place – or to be more accurate high handicap marks and declining ability – Aye Right gets his chance to shine again.

He has been dropped 4lb since that run in the Betfair Ascot Chase, in which Shishkin put 26 lengths into him, to a mark of 150 – which allows him to run in veterans' chases, a fact that delighted his joint-trainer Harriet Graham.

She said: "It's great to be able to run, the handicapper has dropped us a few pounds and he runs well fresh so we're looking forward to it. He's not quite Grade 1 class, but he's been in a bit of a no-man's land carrying lumps of weight against younger horses, so this seems an obvious route now he's ten.

"He ran a fantastic race in the Gold Cup, and at Ascot last time, but he was a rank outsider, so it's great to come here and have an opportunity."

You have to go back seven starts to November 2021 for the last time Aye Right crossed the line first, in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle. That day he gave 10lb and a head beating to the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Good Boy Bobby.

Aye Right with joint-trainer Harriet Graham (left)Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

This time there is 18lb between them in the handicap and Graham added: "Good Boy Bobby's one we're wary of, he's obviously rated a lot lower than we are so I suspect he'll go off favourite, but we'll give it a really good go."

Similar to Aye Right, you have to go back nine starts for Good Boy Bobby's last win, which came in the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby on his very next start after failing to run down Aye Right. Twiston-Davies said: "He's in very good form and runs well fresh, he's a lovely horse. It's very exciting to have a favourite's chance."

Indeed, the last time Good Boy Bobby was sent off favourite was for that Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle in which he was just held by Aye Right.

Very few trainers attend a day at the races where having a winner is not their number-one goal, but for Christian Williams – who has six runners on the day – the fixture is about so much more. The Unibet Welsh Jump Jockeys’ Derby (12.50), which is run in aid of Latch, a children’s cancer charity based in Wales which supported his daughter Betsy, is set to take place before the racing proper gets under way and features his Scottish National and bet365 Gold Cup hero Kitty's Light.

He said: "It'll just be wonderful to see Betsy, Tilly and Charlotte at the races. It'll be Betsy's day tomorrow and we don't need to have a winner to have a good day. Seeing other people in the same position as us in the hospital was very moving so to be able to do what we can to support them is important. We're very lucky everyone's supported the race, we're thankful to Kitty's Light's owners for letting us run him in the race, and it really means a lot."

A JustGiving page has been set up for those wishing to donate to Latch which can be found here.

Read Friday's previews:

1.50 Newmarket: Is there another Winter Power or Quiet Reflection lurking in speedy Cornwallis line-up? 

2.10 Chepstow: Can Paul Nicholls' bumper star make a winning start to hurdling career in Persian War? 

3.00 Newmarket: Is it time for the three-year-olds to brush up their act in the Challenge Stakes? 

3.35 Newmarket: 'He's 8lb well in so you have to be hopeful' - analysis and quotes for the valuable Old Rowley Cup 

4.10 Newmarket: 'It's great to have a chance in a race like this' - Shuwari bids for Group 1 breakthrough to cap sensational year for Ollie Sangster

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