Becher Chase 2021: Chris’s Dream heads the weights as 26 eye Aintree glory

*Odds quoted on the widget are Future Racing / Antepost prices which means that if your selection does not run in the race for whatever reason – you will lose your stake under traditional Antepost rules

Chris’s Dream heads the weights for the Becher Chase 2021 after 26 runners were confirmed at the five-day stage for Saturday’s big handicap.

Henry de Bromhead’s charge unseated his rider on his first attempt over Aintree’s iconic fences in the 2021 Grand National – won by stablemate Minella Times – but the Grade 2 winner is the class horse in the race having also finished second in last year’s Down Royal Champion Chase.

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If he takes his place, Chris’s Dream will have to give lumps of weight to all of his rivals including 20lbs to Paddy Power antepost favourite Mac Tottie, who could go for an unprecedented double after scoring in the Grand Sefton Chase.

Scottish Grand National hero Mighty Thunder and National Hunt Chase third Escaria Ten are next in our antepost betting.

A whole host of lightly-weighted horses are prominent in our antepost book including Snow Leopardess, who scored in a Class 2 handicap chase on her seasonal reappearance earlier this month, and Christian William’s Cap Du Nord.

Kimberlite Candy is on track for another crack having finished second in the last two renewals, although the JP McManus-owned nine-year-old was pulled up on his last run at Aintree in April’s Grand National.

David Pipe’s dual Becher Chase winner Vieux Lion Rouge is also set to feature but has been rated 5lbs higher by the handicapper compared to 12 months ago. Stablemate El Paso Wood – rated 45lbs lower than Chris’s Dream – props up the weights and is the rank outsider in our antepost betting.

A Becher Chase champ has never followed up in the same season’s Grand National, although Earth Summit won both races in the same calendar year in 1998. Amberleigh House and Silver Birch also won the Becher Chase before scoring in the world’s greatest steeplechase later on in their careers.

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