WHAT an Aintree Blue Bresil (Smadoun) had. He sired a pair of Grade 1 winners, and while Nicky Henderson’s Constitution Hill stole the limelight, Inthepocket continued his rise up the ranks with his victory in the Grade 1 Top Novices’ Hurdle.

Bred by Tessa Greatrex and David Futter from the winning Heron Island (Shirley Heights) mare Egretta Island, Inthepocket was sold as a two-year-old at the Goffs UK Yorton Farm Sale for £25,000 to Hamish Macauley.