Big Buck’s bids to make it 17 wins in a row

Owner Andy Stewart believes Big Buck’s is as enthusiastic as ever as he goes for an amazing 17th win on the spin in the BGC Partners Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree today.

The nine-year-old has won the extended three-mile event that opens the three-day John Smith’s Grand National meeting for the past three years.

The Paul Nicholls-trained gelding made Cheltenham history when lifting the Ladbrokes World Hurdle for a fourth time last month and tries to equal that feat in the Grade One on Merseyside. “I wouldn’t say he is better at Aintree as the fields he’s been facing there haven’t been as strong as at Cheltenham,” said Stewart. “Saying that, last year he beat Grands Crus one and three quarter lengths in the World Hurdle and then five lengths on the bridle in the Liverpool Hurdle. I think Grands Crus just had a very hard race at Cheltenham, and, albeit we had a race, Big Buck’s just seems to recover so quickly. After this year’s World Hurdle you wouldn’t have known he had a race - he could have gone round again.

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“Obviously he is feeling it because he is nine years of age now, so youth is just on his side but it’s not quite the same as when he was seven. One day he will turn around and say I don’t want to do this any more but I think we are miles away from that at the moment.”

Smad Place, third to Big Buck’s at Cheltenham last month, takes on the super stayer again and Alan King’s runner has every chance of being best of the rest.

Meanwhile, Keiran Burke is excited about the prospect of Hunt Ball stepping up from handicaps to the highest level in the Betfred Bowl Chase. Burke, who changed his role from jockey to trainer this season, put the seven-year-old through his paces himself yesterday ahead of his big date on Merseyside.

Hunt Ball has gone up over 80lb in the ratings since 28 November with seven wins and a second in eight starts. “I’m looking forward to it and we’ll have to see what happens, I suppose,” said the Somerset handler. “He’s been very good. I rode him out this morning and he’s in top form.”