The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle

The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle is the first race to be run on Day Two, Ladies Day during The Grand National Festival at Aintree Racecourse at the beginning of every April.

The Grand National Festival is a wonderful three-day National Hunt horse racing meeting that offers three seven-race cards, each with its own higher-value feature race.

The feature race of Day One, Liverpool NHS Day is The Betway Aintree Hurdle, the feature race of Day Two, Ladies Day is The Marsh Steeple Chase (Registered as The Melling) and the feature race of Day Three, Grand National Day is, of course, The Grand National Steeple Chase.

This year’s edition of The Grand National Festival at Aintree Racecourse is scheduled to take place from Thursday the 8th until Saturday the 10th of April 2021. For all of The Grand National Festival’s news and ticket information, sign up for The Jockey Club’s newsletter at https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/newsletter/.

About The Race

The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle is a Grade 3, Class 1 National Hunt handicap hurdle race that serves as the opening race of Ladies Day at The Grand National Festival every year.

Open to horses aged four years old and above, The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle runs 2 miles and 4 furlongs of Aintree’s Mildmay course and features a number of hurdles for the competitors to jump.

Last time out there was £75,000 in the prize pot, with the following amounts assigned to each placement position:

1st place – £42,202

2nd place – £15,900

3rd place – £7,958

4th place – £3,975

The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle will begin at 13:45 on Friday the 9th of April 2021.

Runners

The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle may be the first race of Day Two, but we’re now approaching the mid-point of the Grand National Festival and the main event is inching closer. The runners of this magnificent race put on a passionate performance every year to keep Aintree’s atmospheric buzz at its pinnacle.

In a race contested by 21 runners, here are the top 10 finishers, their starting prices and how they fared in this fantastic race on Ladies Day during the Grand National meeting at Aintree Racecourse last time out in 2019:

1st place – Three Musketeers (IRE) – 8/1 starting price – ridden by jockey Jack Kennedy and trained by Gordon Elliott

2nd place – Point Of Principle (IRE) – 25/1 starting price – ridden by jockey Charlie Price and trained by Tim Vaughan

3rd place – Canardier (FR) – 6/1 starting price – ridden by jockey Barry Geraghty and trained by Dermot McLoughlin

4th place – Sternrubin (GER) – 16/1 starting price – ridden by jockey Richard Johnson and trained by Philip Hobbs

5th place – Knight In Dubai (IRE) – 14/1 starting price – ridden by jockey Harry Skelton and trained by Dan Skelton

6th place – Doctor Dex (IRE) – 20/1 starting price – ridden by jockey Jonathon Burke and trained by Tom George

7th place – Tedham (GB) – 11/2 starting price – ridden by jockey Nick Scholfield and trained by Jonjo O’Neill

8th place – Caltex (FR) – 50/1 starting price – ridden by jockey Jeremiah McGrath and trained by Henry Oliver

9th place – Mohaayed (GB) – 33/1 starting price – ridden by jockey Bridget Andrews and trained by Dan Skelton

10th place – Esprit Du Large (FR) – 8/1 starting price – ridden by jockey Adam Wedge and trained by Evan Williams

Tips

It’s the first race of Day Two and it’s time to get the betting off to a flying start. In order to do that, trust our team of knowledgeable Aintree betting tipsters to steer your bet slip towards Aintree glory.

As well as the best Grand National tips for races like The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle, we’ll give you promo codes for the best betting offers around, including free bets, boosted odds, paid extra places and even cashback on any losses you may incur.

Odds

Races that feature on the fixture list of The Grand National meeting at Aintree attract some of the best odds seen throughout the entire National Hunt horse racing calendar.

Odds for The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle last time out ranged between 11/2 for the race favourite Tedham and 50/1 for the longest outsiders Caltex and Mister Fizz.

The last edition of The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle was won by 8/1 priced Three Musketeers, who turned £10 outright backing stakes into £90 in returns, £80 in profits.

Previous Winners

Here are the previous 4 winners of The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle during the Grand National meeting, including their odds, closest competitors and race stats:

(2020 meeting abandoned due to the Coronavirus pandemic)

2019

The last edition of The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle at Aintree Racecourse in 2019 was won by 8/1 priced Three Musketeers, ridden by jockey Jack Kennedy and trained by Gordon Elliott.

25/1 outsider Point Of Principle finished a length and three-quarters behind Three Musketeers in second place, followed by 6/1 priced Canardier in third place and 16/1 outsider Sternrubin in fourth.

2018

On Ladies Day of The Grand National Festival 2018, The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle was won by 20/1 outsider Jester Jet, ridden by jockey Richard Dunne and trained by Tom Lacey.

20/1 Irish outsider Eaton Hill finished just three-quarters of a length behind Jester Jet in second place, followed by 13/2 priced Who Dares Wins in third place and 14/1 outsider Wilde Blue Yonder in fourth.

2017

10/1 priced Rather Be won The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle on Day Two of The Grand National Festival in 2017, ridden by jockey Jeremiah McGrath and trained by Nicky Henderson.

8/1 priced joint-favourite Dream Berry finished just half a length behind Rather Be in second place, followed by 12/1 priced Geordie Des Champs in third place and 8/1 priced joint-favourite Thomas Campbell in fourth.

2016

Back in 2016, the winner of The Orrell Park Handicap Hurdle at Aintree Racecourse on Day Two of The Grand National Festival was 33/1 outsider Party Rock, ridden by jockey Sean Quinlan and trained by Jennie Candlish.

14/1 priced outsider Champagne At Tara finished 5 lengths behind Party Rock in second place, followed by 7/1 priced Starchitect in third place and 25/1 outsider Sky Khan in fourth.