Dan Skelton’s charge set to make his eagerly-awaited reappearance at Haydock on Saturday.

Dan Skelton's charge set to make his eagerly-awaited reappearance at Haydock on Saturday.

The Cheltenham October Showcase Meeting recorded its highest ever attendance, with 20,585 punters going through the turnstiles across the two days. Racecourse bosses have attributed this to the student racing initiative Invades, who brought 5000 to the Best Mate enclosure on Friday. This represents the biggest turnout for the meeting since the 2007 renewal, when the fixture was shifted to the weekend for the first time.

The Gordon Elliott-trained Gerri Colombe stayed on stoutly to land the William Hill Bowl Chase at Aintree on Thursday.

Aintree’s Grand National meeting will open with an exciting renewal of the Grade 1 Aintree Bowl on Thursday, with twelve entries including Cheltenham Gold Cup second Gerri Colombe.