Aintree’s Grand National Festival kicks off on Thursday 9 March at 1.45pm with the Grade 1 Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle. Ten go to post for the curtain-raiser with several lining up with a big chance.

Our in-house tipster Steve Chambers previews the event. He looks at the runners, odds and tips for the hugely competitive contest.

2026 Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle Runners 

Willie Mullins has won two of the last three renewals of this event and he will saddle the well-fancied Selma De Vary. Fourth in the Triumph Hurdle, the filly found a few traffic problems in the closing stages of that contest and could’ve got closer with a clear run. She will have form to turn around with both Maestro Conti and Minella Study, who finished second and third in the Triumph. The British pair are leading players, if they can build on those Cheltenham exertions, with both showing they are two of the leading juveniles on UK shores.

Winston Junior will showcase the Fred Winter form and Faye Bramley’s star was a slightly unlucky runner-up behind Saratoga last month. Given plenty to do, he just failed to reel in the Irish raider, but if he can be ridden closer to the speed here then he has to be considered another huge player.

Gordon Elliott’s Mange Tout was third behind Selma De Vary and classy juvenile Proactif in the Grade 1 at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival. The Cullentra House inmate missed Cheltenham, so heads to Liverpool a fresh horse. With more improvement to come he’s certainly one that could play a strong hand in this fascinating contest.

2026 Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle Racecard

2026 Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle Trends 

We pick out some key trends for the 2026 Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle:

• 4 of the last 10 winners were favourite
• 7 of the last 10 winners have been trained in UK
• 2 of the last 10 winners were rated over 150

2026 Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle Tips 

As is always the case with this race, you see the Triumph Hurdle and Fred Winter form do battle. This year it can see the latter come out on top with Winston Junior landing the prize. He ran a stormer from way back at Cheltenham to finish second and he has huge improvement to come. He showed when winning at Ascot that he can dominate, so if he’s closer to the pace then he can down both Selma De Vary and Maestro Conti, who can grab second and third spot.

FAQs

When and where is the Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle run?

The Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle will take place at Aintree racecourse on Thursday 9 April, 2026 at 1.45pm.

How can I watch the Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle on Thursday?

The Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle is shown live on ITV Racing at 1.45pm.

When were the Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle tips published?

The tips for the Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle were published at 12pm on Tuesday 7 April.

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