Aintree 'Grand National' Festival 2026 Day 2

Grand National Festival Day Two Tips

The middle day of the meeting is Ladies Day, kicking off with a hugely competitive two and a half mile handicap hurdle.

The Mildmay Novices Chase is over three miles and a furlong, a race that both Rhyme ‘n’ Reason and Royal Athlete won before becoming Grand National heroes. The is another contest in which Nicky Henderson has done well in in recent years.

The feature race, the Melling Chase, is over two and a half miles and given the sharp nature of the track, has regularly seen Champion Chase winners step up in trip to contest it, though with limited success. Top class animals such as Master Minded and Sprinter Sacre won this in 2011 and 2013 respectively.

The Topham Chase is the second of the races at the meeting over the National fences. Despite it’s difficult nature, only seven trainers have won the last 15 renewals. A three-mile novices hurdle follows before another handicap closes out the Friday of the meeting.

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