The Becher Chase is run at Aintree racecourse over the historic Grand National-style fences and, therefore, provides punters with some early-season clues ahead of the world’s most famous steeplechase.
Run over the 3m2f the race has been won six times by trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies, while Silver Birch and Amberleigh House are recent winners of the Becher Chase then went on later in their careers to land the Grand National too.
The Robert Walford-trained Walk In The Mill has won the last two runnings and could be back for more in 2020.
We look back at recent winners and gives you the key trends to look out for ahead of the 2020 renewal, this year run on Saturday 5th December.
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Recent Becher Chase Winners
2019 – WALK IN THE MILL (8/1)
2018 – WALK IN THE MILL (10/1)
2017 – BLAKLION (7/4 fav)
2016 – VIEUX LION ROUGE (8/1 fav)
2015 – HIGHLAND LODGE (20/1)
2014 – OSCAR TIME (25/1)
2013 – CHANCE DU ROY (14/1)
2012 – HELLO BUD (14/1)
2011 – WEST END ROCKER (10/1)
2010 – HELLO BUD (15/2 fav)
2009 – VIC VENTURI (7/1)
2008 – BLACK APALACHI (15/2)
2007 – MR POINTMENT (15/2)
2006 – EUROTREK (25/1)
2005 – GARVIVONNIAN (33/1)
2004 – SILVER BIRCH (4/1 fav)
2003 – CLAN ROYAL (11/2)
2002 – ARDENT SCOUT (14/1)
Becher Chase Betting Trends
15/18 – Had won between 2-5 times over fences before
14/18 – Carried 10-12 or less
14/18 – Had won over at least 3m (fences) before
14/18 – Had no more than 1 start that season
13/18 – Had raced within the last 7 weeks
13/18 – Had run over these Grand National-style fences before
12/18 – Aged 9 or older
12/18 – Officially rated between 123-138
12/18 – Had raced at Aintree before
11/18 – Irish-bred winners
10/18 – Went onto finish unplaced in that season’s Grand National
10/18 – Returned a double-figure price in the betting
8/18 – Ran in the previous season’s Grand National
7/18 – Placed favourites
4/18 – Winning favourites
3/18 – Trained by Paul Nicholls
3/18 – Irish-trained winners
3/18 – Won last time out
3/18 – Trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies
1/18 – Went onto win the Grand National later in their career
0/18 – Went onto win the Grand National that same season
The average winning SP in the last 18 years is 12/1
Trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies has won the race 6 times since 1993
Walk In The Mill won the race in 2018 and 2019
Blaklion won the race in 2017
Vieux Lion Rouge won the race in 2016
TQ VERDICT: Plenty of old faces on show here – including the 2016 winner, Vieux Lion Rouge, but we’ve also got the 2018 and 2019 hero – WALK IN THE MILL – in the race. He’ll be looking to become the most successful horse in the races history if he can land it for a third time and after blowing away the cobwebs at Ascot last time out should be ready to rumble again. We know he loves these National-style fences and despite being rated 8lbs higher this year I think he’s still set to run a big race. He had Kimberlite Candy 2 ½ lengths back 12 months ago in second so there might not be a lot between then two again here, but with a recent run under his belt he might just be the sharper of the two and, as we know, these fences seem to bring out the best of him – having also been fourth in the 2019 Grand National. Trainer Paul Nicholls has a good record in the race too – winning it 3 times in the last 18 years – he runs Yala Enki and Give Me A Copper. However, another yard that often do well in this race is the Nigel Twiston-Davies camp, with three wins since 2010. With that in mind, a chance is taken on their runner – CALETT MAD (e/w) – who returns from a 693-day break. He’s clearly had some issues over the last few years, but is still only 8 years-old and was showing a lot of promise over these staying trips back in the 2018-19 season. He gets in here with just 10-9 to carry and being a sound jumper could really take to these fences. Of the rest, Le Breuil will be popular too and will be a lot fitter for a recent fourth at Kelso but was 20 lengths behind Walk In The Mill in this race last year. The in-form Minellacelebration and former Cheltenham Festival winner – Coo Star Sivola – are others to consider.
