Champ gets National meeting underway in style
Tony McCoy struck first blood on Carlovent in the opening race of the three-day Grand National meeting, the Martell Cognac Nisa Today’s Handicap Hurdle, at Aintree today.
The champion jockey took the Martin Pipe-trained gelding, winner of this race two years ago, to the front over five flights from home.
And the eight-year-old, a 16-1 chance, had enough in hand to hold Rostropovich (16-1) by a length and a half with Keepatem (8-1) a further half a length back in third and Fairwood Heart fourth.
