'There are no negatives' - Dan Skelton confident of big run from Grey Dawning in Cheltenham rematch with Ginny's Destiny

Anyone for a trilogy? It might not be in the realms of Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier, but Grey Dawning v Ginny’s Destiny is becoming an epic of its own. The score is 1-1 over fences and those who thought Grey Dawning was unlucky not to win the first bout were proved right at the Cheltenham Festival.

In their first meeting at Cheltenham before Christmas, Grey Dawning conceded 3lb to Ginny’s Destiny and was beaten three-quarters of a length after belting the second-last. Grey Dawning made no mistake in the rematch off level weights last month, though, winning by two lengths.

Evidently there isn’t a lot between them, but the bookmakers have Grey Dawning as a warm order to confirm his Turners superiority over his old rival despite a sharper test at the 2m4f trip.

The prices look about right, but Grey Dawning stays three miles and relished the stiff uphill finish at Cheltenham last time. Ginny’s Destiny appears to have more natural pace and is the slicker jumper of the pair, which gives him a chance of revenge at this sharp track.

However, there is plenty of rain forecast and the ground is already on the soft side. If conditions take another turn for the worse, that could bring Grey Dawning’s stamina into play.

Willie Mullins could do no better than seventh behind them at Cheltenham with Facile Vega, but he will be hoping to crash the party here with Il Etait Temps, who shapes like he will improve for a stiffer test of stamina following his running-on third in the Arkle at two miles.

He loves Leopardstown and it’s possible to argue Aintree isn’t a dissimilar track, but he needs the British starlets to underperform by at least 5lb on Racing Post Ratings and made several errors at Cheltenham. A slicker round of jumping is needed.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

RP Recommends: how to bet on the Manifesto

By Tom Park, audience editor

A small but select field kicks off the meeting as Turners' one-two Grey Dawning and Ginny's Destiny reoppose, while Arkle third Il Etait Temps also takes his chance. With such a small field the offers are limited which makes bet365's Price Promise the best option. From 10am up to 15 minutes before the off, bet365 won't be beaten on price by selected bookmakers and they are also Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG), making them the standout whoever you're backing. I think 9-2 is far too big for Ginny's Destiny so I'll take a chance on him reversing the Cheltenham form with the odds-on favourite Grey Dawning.

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Skelton 'very happy' with Grey Dawning prep

Dan Skelton is struggling to find any negatives to the chances of Turners Novices’ Chase winner Grey Dawning sealing back-to-back Grade 1 victories in the Close Brothers-sponsored Manifesto.

The Robert Kirkland-owned seven-year-old defeated the reopposing Ginny’s Destiny by two lengths in the two-and-a-half-mile contest at the Cheltenham Festival last month, having won over three miles in the Hampton Novices’ Chase at Warwick in January.

Proven stamina is a notable positive on testing ground and Skelton feels there is plenty in favour of his exciting prospect.

Skelton said in his Ladbrokes blog: “He has the very soft ground that he had at Cheltenham and I'm very happy with him at home. He looks fantastic and there are no negatives.

“Most of these horses ran at Cheltenham and it’s not like many of them have an advantage by coming here fresh. I'm really looking forward to this.”

Grey Dawning (left) and Ginny's Destiny battle it out in the Turners Novices' ChaseCredit: John Grossick Racing

Paul Nicholls will complete the full set of 11 Grade 1s at Aintree’s Grand National meeting if Ginny’s Destiny scores in the £120,000 event.

This will be a first start away from Cheltenham this season for the Gordon and Su Hall-owned eight-year-old, who has form figures of 71112 since going over fences.

Nicholls said: “He's been progressive. He had a hard race at Cheltenham and a lot will depend on how he comes out of it but he appears in good shape and has had a month to recover. 

“I don't think there's much between him and Grey Dawning. It's a different track and a different day, and if he runs up to his form he has a nice chance.”

What they say

Tom Lacey, trainer of Blow Your Wad
The cheekpieces seemed to help him at Kempton and he’s not done much wrong this season. He’s a fresh horse and has earned his place in this. Going left-handed would be a slight concern but it might have been the undulations rather than going that way around that didn’t suit him at Cheltenham two starts ago. It’s a competitive race but we thought it was worth rolling the dice.

Jamie Snowden, trainer of Colonel Harry
He got shuffled back from where we necessarily wanted to be in the Turners and he was fighting a losing battle from a winning perspective from a fair way out, but he did make up a huge amount of ground up the hill. That bodes well for going up in trip in the future, but we felt this interim trip on testing ground will suit him. He deserves to take his chance.

Willie Mullins, trainer of Il Etait Temps
He's up in trip but I don’t think he’ll have a problem staying. He'll like the soft ground and I don’t anticipate any problems for him around Aintree. He has a good chance.
Reporting by Jack Haynes

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