Binocular and Halo in opening day clash Supreme Novices´ Hurdle runner-up Binocular challenges Triumph Hurdle hero Celestial Halo in an irresistible clash on the opening day of the Aintree Grand National meeting. Binocular´s owner JP McManus has such a fine hand of youngsters it was decided Nicky Henderson´s charge was to miss the Triumph, as the owner already had the short-priced favourite Franchoek, a hard-fought second in the race itself. With the Alan King-trained Franchoek tackling the Citroen C5 Mersey Novices´ Hurdle on the same card, Binocular will take up the gauntlet in the Grade One John Smith´s 250th Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices´ Hurdle. A winner of his first two starts in Britain, Binocular was only just beaten by yet another McManus star, Captain Cee Bee, in the meeting´s curtain-raiser three weeks ago. "We nearly didn´t go to Cheltenham at all to keep him for this race but we decided to go and he ran very well," said Henderson. "I thought we were going to clash with Franchoek too, but it looks like he´s going for the two-and-a-half miler instead. "It´s going to be very difficult. Celestial Halo was very good at Cheltenham, but then so were we. This is where we find out who is best." Connections will adopt positive riding tactics with Celesital Halo. Paul Nicholls´ charge returned to winning ways at Cheltenham following a shock defeat at Doncaster on his previous start. "There are no ´ifs´ about him. He was just a bit green jumping and we didn´t ride him positive enough at Doncaster," said the trainer. "He stays, he jumps - why not let him go off. It doesn´t mean he has to do it if it´s a fast-run race. I just wanted him ridden like that and it worked. "It´s a different track and three weeks after Cheltenham. He´s a four-year-old and he did have a hard race at Cheltenham, but he appears to be OK. "Binocular, I assume, also had a hard race at Cheltenham. On a line through Pierrot Lunaire who was second to Binocular at Kempton I think we´ve got his beating but he might have improved again," Nicholls told At The Races.
