Ben Jones Aintree Day One rides blog: 'I saw him this morning and I've got to say he looks magnificent'

Leading jockey and Ladbrokes ambassador Ben Jones shares his latest blog for Day One of Aintree, previewing his one run of the day on Mambonumberfive in the Novices' Chase.

Ben Jones Aintree Day One rides blog - April 9, 2026

Ben Jones Aintree Day One rides schedule

• Mambonumberfive - Aintree - 2.20 race odds

2.20 - Mambonumberfive - Aintree

We're heading up to Aintree having just about freshened up off the back of a hectic Cheltenham festival. I've got one ride on the opening day: Mambonumberfive in the Grade 1 Novices' Chase. To be honest, he's a horse that hasn't let us down, bar his last run. He's obviously taken to fence chasing really well, and one who we were targeting Cheltenham with, but he wasn't quite right at home before then, so we decided to give him a little break to get him to Aintree in tip-top form.

I saw him this morning [Tuesday] and I've got to say he looks magnificent. You wouldn't say he looks like he's had a busy season when looking at him. He looks really, really well, and he worked well this morning. So it's all systems go... obviously Lulamba is odds-on in this race, but bar that one, it's pretty open. We've come up against a couple of the others and been on the right side of them. So if he can forget his last ride and show up like we know he can, then hopefully we've got a good chance. There's only five runners, so we're very much looking forward to it.

It's not a busy day, but I'd much rather take quality over quantity, and Mambonumberfive is quality. 

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