THE sun is blazing Aintree, setting us up beautifully for the biggest day in racing. Lossiemouth provided us with a scintillating performance in the Aintree Hurdle on Thursday to set the tone for the week, and an electric turn of foot proved too much for her rivals, writes Page Fuller.

Constitution Hill checked out two hurdles from home, but with the speed the mare showed in the last few furlongs, would he have been able to get close?

Paul Townend took his time for the main part of the race, stalking the market leader with menace, and as soon as the race began to unfold, he swooped around the outside and found himself in the perfect challenging position.

It was what happened next which was so special. She approached the next two hurdles quicker than 35 mph, and hit a top speed of 36.22 mph in the second last furlong. That was the quickest any horse went on the day. Her top speed of 37.32mph in the Mares’ Hurdle last month is the only time she’d been quicker than in the Aintree Hurdle. This surely suggests that she’s conditioning nicely for a crack at next year’s Champion Hurdle.

It’s hard not to mention Wodhooh in second, too, who gave her a run for her money. She looks like the horse that could benefit most from the absence of Lossiemouth in the Mares’ Hurdle.