A week on from the Grand National itself at Aintree, the Scottish Grand National becomes the major flashpoint of the battle for the trainers’ championship between Willie Mullins and leader Dan Skelton.
The 4m handicap chase, worth £200,000, could be vital in deciding this year’s title. It is a prize well worth winning in its own right, with plenty of others declared in pursuit of a major spring handicap.
A field of 23 have been declared for Saturday’s race at Ayr and we have picked out a pair with which to oppose the Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton scatterguns.
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Scottish Grand National Runners and Odds
Chosen Witness @ 13/2
Olympic Man @ 9/1
Rock My Way @ 10/1
Surrey Quest @ 11/1
Captain Cody @ 11/1
Macdermott @ 12/1
The Kniphand @ 12/1
Hasthing @ 12/1
Henry’s Friend @ 14/1
Sail Away @ 16/1
Spanish Harlem @ 16/1
Walking On Air @ 20/1
Brandt @ 20/1
Klarc Kent @ 20/1
Famous Bridge @ 20/1
Magna Sam @ 22/1
Wiseguy @ 25/1
Flash De Touzaine @ 28/1
Our Power @ 33/1
Snipe @ 33/1
Dom Of Mary @ 50/1
Grozni @ 50/1
Mr Incredible @ 100/1
Selection: Henry’s Friend @ 14/1
Next Best: The Kniphand @ 12/1
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Pauling can be the punters’ Friend
Most bettors were probably caught on the wrong side of at least one of the umpteen false starts at the Cheltenham Festival. The Ben Pauling-trained HENRY’S FRIEND was among the horses hindered by the ragged start in the Ultima Handicap Chase on the Tuesday. Despite a slow start, Henry’s Friend was able to stalk his way into contention, getting right onto the heels of all-the-way winner Myretown three out before his efforts told. He would not have beaten the winner no matter what had happened, but he shaped like he was value to be placed.
Henry’s Friend is at his best at Newbury, where he has won twice and been fifth in the Coral Gold Cup. He is a thorough stayer who has always appealed as the sort to thrive in a marathon. The Scottish National, run at a flat left-handed track like Newbury and away from deep ground, provides an ideal platform to show punters what chance they were cost in the Ultima.
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Unexposed sort looks overpriced
Nigel Twiston-Davies loves the Scottish Grand National. He has won the race three times, most recently in 2009 with Hello Bud. Only once since then has he not had a runner in the race, losing out by narrow margins in both 2017 and 2018.
This year’s runner is THE KNIPHAND, who has made rapid progress over fences this season having started as a 116-rated maiden over the big obstacles. He won at Southwell and Doncaster before the turn of the year, and since then has run well in a couple of big races.
Last time, the money poured in for The Kniphand and he went off favourite for the Grimthorpe at Doncaster. He was not so well placed as winner Moroder, also making a couple of errors as he tried to gain ground in the straight. In other words, he shaped as well as the winner in a Premier handicap last time and is only 2lb higher in the weights now.
The Kniphand would be well into single-figure odds if he were trained in Ireland. But he isn’t, he is trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies. That is no negative at all, not least in the Scottish Grand National.
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