By Andrew Atkinson
Gordon Elliott trained Three Stripe Life tipped by fromthehorsesmouth.info landed the Grade One Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on Saturday, under jockey Davy Russell, beating Might I by 4 3/4 lengths.
“He has done nothing wrong all year – it’s nice for him to get his day in the sun,” said Elliott.
“Davy gave him a great ride, he jumped very well and he’s a chaser for next year. He’s entered at Punchestown – he’s been busy enough – and we might just finish it off.
“He’ll go chasing next year, he’s bred to be a chaser and looks like a chaser,” added Elliott.
“I ended up having to be there quite early on him, but he’s a mature horse and had been prepared to run in a point-to-point so I was happy once he got there and filled himself up,” said Russell.
“Then he went again and it was lovely. We were dicing with two miles – we knew it wasn’t ideal for him – but he’s classy.
“We thought he’d learned a lot over two miles and then when we stepped him up he’d find a bit of improvement, so that’s what we did,” added Russell.
Elliott added: “We’ve had the horse since he was a youngster. This winner follows 15 or 16 seconds during the last three weeks.”
Three Stripe Life was clipped into 5-2 from 3-1, just before the off, and Russell said: “I wanted to get in a little closer. He’s a mature horse and has got plenty in him.
“He dropped at the right time and jumped great. He’s very brave – a classy horse.”
Mill Green (18-1) tipped each-way by fromthehorsesmouth.info finished third in the EFT Construction Handicap over 3 miles, under Nico de Boinville.
Nicky Henderson trained Mill Green was beaten 3/4 length by Party Business and a further 12 lengths behind Ilikedwayurthinkin in the Grade 3 race.
