The three-day Grand National meeting at Aintree gets under way on Thursday. The opening day feature is the Totesport Bowl Chase, a Grade I race over 5,000 metres. The going will be good to soft. Five run and the race is worth 85,515 pounds to the winner. Imperial Commander, winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, is the 11-10 favourite in a field of five. Gold Cup winners have a poor record in the Totesport Bowl and that is why Imperial Commander is at 11-10. There are seven races and the first race goes off at 2 00 PM. The Totesport Bowl is the third race.

On Saturday, the Grand National will be contested. It will be the fifth race. More on that in my next report. The third race on Saturday is the Dick Francis Aintree Hurdle.

Let us take a look at what is in store on Thursday. In France, two Guineas trials will be run at Maisons Laffitte, a course in Paris that is easily accessible by train. Special Duty, owned by Khalid Abdullah, is favoured in the Prix Imprudence, a 1400-metre race for sophomore girls. Criquette Head-Maarek trains Special Duty who will have the services of jockey Stephane Pasquier. Special Duty won the Cheveley Park Stud Stakes last year in England. A second place finish in the Prix Morny and a win in the Robert Papin only enhanced Special Duty’s reputation. The Imprudence is a straight 1400-metre contest.

Trainer Head-Maarek spoke: “She (Special Duty) is fine. She has been working nicely. Testing ground will be the same for all the runners. She has never run more than six furlongs but the extra distance should pose no problem.”

Winners of Imprudence have done well in the Guineas races. Natagora won the English 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. Elusive Wave won the French 1000 Guineas.

There is another race at Maisons Laffitte on Thursday. It is the Prix Djebel over 1,400 metres. Eight three year-olds will answer the starter’s call. Trainer Jean Claude Rouget sends out two runners, Boltcity and Silver Black. Boltcity is the better of the two and will be ridden by Christophe Soumillon. Trainer Rouget’s Le Havre won the Djebel in 2009, ran second in the French 2000 Guineas and won the Derby at Chantilly in early June.

Keeneland (in Kentucky) hosts the Vinery Madison Stakes on Thursday. It is a race over 1,400 metres for fillies and mares. It will be run on the polytrack. Informed Decision, a Jonathan Sheppard pupil, is at the top of the list. She was the champion female sprinter in 2009 and was victorious in the Breeders’ Cup filly-mare sprint at Santa Anita. Julien Leparoux will be aboard.

Here is news from Australia. Danny Peisley, a jockey, has been banned for three months. Peisley pleaded guilty to betting on 48 events in a two-month span and that is a violation of Australian rules. Peisley used his wife’s account to make the wagers. The stewards took a lenient view because this was the first time that Peisley has been in hot water.

Here are some names Indian fans are familiar with and these are jockeys who rode a handful of winners in England on Wednesday. David Allan rode Red Wine, a 5-1 chance, to a win at Catterick in a 14-furlong race. Adrian Nicholls rode two winners, both trained by David Nicholls, his father. Academy Blues, 5-2, and Dispol Grand, 14-1, were the two winners. Frankie Dettori won two races at Nottingham. He won the 3 20 PM race with Kylladdie, the 13-8 favourite. There was another Dettori winner in the 3 50 race. Opinion Poll, the 11-8 public choice, registered an impressive victory. Dettori went to Kempton and won the 6 30 race with Shelfah, the 3-1 favourite.

Kieren Fallon connected with Decency, 7-2, in the 9 00 race at Kempton. Martin Dwyer won the 3 00 race at Lingfield. The winner was Waterloo Dock, a 9-2 chance. Martin was in action at the twilight meeting at Kempton. He steered Totally Ours, 12-1, to a win in the 7 00 race. Kempton is outside of London. There is a convenient train connection from London Waterloo station. In England, jockeys often ride at two tracks in one day during the summer. The richer ones have planes. Others get chartered aircraft. If the distance is manageable, driving is a viable option.

Zenyatta is 15 for 15 in her career. The John Shirreffs-trained mare will try to make it 16 for 16 when she takes on four rivals in the $500,000 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park on Friday. The Apple Blossom, a race that Zenyatta won two years ago, is a Grade I prize. This is the only second time that Zenyatta will race on a dirt track. Her major wins have come on California’s artificial surfaces. Mike Smith will be the jockey.

Citation and Cigar won 16 races in a row. Hallowed Dreams also made it 16 in a row. Pepper’s Pride, who retired in 2009, compiled a 19 for 19 record. News is that Pepper’s Pride has been bred to Distorted Humor. Pepper’s Pride is by Desert God out of Lady Pepper who is by Chili Pepper Pie. Last year, Pepper’s Pride was bred to Tiznow but the foal did not survive.

On Saturday, Keeneland has the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. Nine three year-olds will run. It is a Grade I event with a $750,000 purse. It will be over 1800 metres on Keeneland’s polytrack. The 3-1 favourite is Pleasant Prince, second to Icebox in the Florida Derby. Julien Leparoux will ride. Odysseus is 7-2 and will have Rajiv Maragh. Aikenite, from Todd Pletcher’s barn, is a 4-1 chance and will be ridden by Garrett Gomez. Interactif, another Pletcher runner, is also at 4-1 and will have Rafael Bejarano. The 86th running of the Blue Grass will be at 5 30 PM Eastern time. It will be 3 AM on Sunday in India.

Also on tap on Saturday is the Grade I $1,000,000 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Nine sophomores will run. Super Saver, Calvin Borel up, is the 9-5 favourite. Noble’s Promise, with Robby Albarado, is at 2-1. Terry Thompson will guide Dublin who is at 7-2.

Blind Luck, by virtue of her win in Oaklawn’s Fantasy Stakes, sits atop the pecking order for the Kentucky Oaks on April 30 at Churchill Downs. The daughter of Pollard’s Vision will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano. Blind Luck has six wins from nine starts for earnings of $1,069,050. Jerry Hollendorfer trains Blind Luck who won the Las Virgnes this year and was third in the Santa Anita Oaks.

Sidney’s Candy, runaway winner of the Santa Anita Derby, will leave for Louisville next Tuesday. The Derby will be the first time Sidney’s Candy will go on the dirt. John Sadler, Sidney’s Candy’s trainer, plans to have two workouts at Churchill before the Derby on May 1. Lookin At Lucky, interfered with in the Santa Anita Derby when taking third, is going to take his chances in the Run for the Roses. The Bob Baffert trainee will fly out of Los Angeles early next week. Baffert confirmed that his trainee will work, at least, twice on Churchill’s dirt track before running in the Derby.

I am working on my trip to Europe. It is an arduous exercise. Plane connections, train travel and hotel reservations and putting them all together takes a lot of planning. Air tickets are much higher than last year. My plan is to attend the English Oaks and the Derby at Epsom on June 4 and 5. I’ll take a train from London to Paris on Sunday, June 6 and get to Chantilly for the French Derby. I will get back to London late in the evening by taking a 9 PM train from Paris. Gare du Nord in Paris is where the Eurostar from London arrives. The train to Chantilly is from the Nord. From Chantilly, I get back to the Nord. I will eat dinner and be back at the Nord to board the train back to London.

I will attend Royal Ascot. It is a physically demanding five-day period. On June 24, I will fly to Dublin. The Irish Derby festival is from June 25. It is over three days. Friday (June 25) racing is a twilight card. Saturday’s feature is the Pretty Polly Stakes. The Irish Derby and the Railway Stakes will be run on Sunday, June 27.

I will linger in Dublin until July 1 when I fly back to Chicago. I have done this year after year. Every year, it is getting to be harder and harder. Please wish me well.