Scottish Grand National 2021

Sponsors Coral regularly reference the Scottish Grand National as generating their fourth highest turnover of any race in the calendar. 

The most recent renewal took place on 13th April 2019 when Nicky Richards' Takingrisks foiled Crosspark's attempt to become the first horse since Willsford in1995 to win both the Eider and the Scottish National in the same season. 

This year's Eider winner Sam's Adventure has been raised eight pounds for his trouble (in a race which saw Big River pulled up and The Dutchman unseat rider). 

Nicky Richards saddles two - Chapel Stile has done most of his racing on soft / heavy ground while Chidswell beat Dingo Dollar in the 2019 Grimthorpe Chase at Doncaster and bids to become the first twelve-year-old to come home in front since Willsford.

23 runners went to post two years ago, with five withdrawn on the day on account of the drying ground - including Dingo Dollar. At the time of writing Vintage Clouds has been declared a non-runner leaving 22 set to face the starter at 3.35 tomorrow - the smallest field to go to post for a number of years.

Aye Right is an admirable sort; Harriet Graham's charge likes to race prominently and heads the market but looks in the grip of the handicapper.

Notachance certainly has a chance in a race Alan King likes to target - he trained Godsmejudge to win in 2013. 

This one won the Classic Chase at Warwick with something in hand and then suffered a nasty injury next time when pulled up behind Lord Du Mesnil at at Haydock. The handler reports the gelding in fine form now but the prep has been a little rushed; connections considered waiting for the bet365 Chase at Sandown next week but have decided to take their chance here.

Former Alan King inmate Dingo Dollar looks the pick of Sandy Thomson's two runners with Brian Hughes up. The Ferry Man is respected but much of his form to date has been in small fields.

Soldier Of Love is Paul Nicholls' representative with Truckers Lodge and Highland Hunter not making the final declaration stage. This one will certainly appreciate good ground; the handler won the 2016 and 2017 renewals with Vicente.

Tom Scudamore picks up a plum ride aboard Mighty Thunder after regular pilot Blair Campbell failed to recover from a recent hand injury. Lucinda Russell's charge won the Edinburgh National in February and then finished a highly creditable second to Time To Get Up in the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter last month. The gelding clearly stays and should handle the ground; the handicapper has raised the horse 14 pounds for his last two efforts.

Mister Fogpatches is the sole Irish raider with Danny Mullins taking the ride. The gelding handles good ground but remains a maiden over fences. 

Big River finished fifth behind Takingrisks in 2019 but is one whose jumping has never really convinced.

Among those at bigger prices Some Chaos, Coup De Pinceau and Chef D'Oeuvre are of interest.

Some Chaos finished third behind Secret Investor and Potterman at Chepstow in October and then beat Claud and Goldie over three and a quarter miles at Kelso. On his next start he finished fifth behind El Presente in the Badgers Beers Silver Trophy at Wincanton, beaten under six lengths after encountering some trouble in running three out. 

He has since had a break and a couple of warm-up runs over hurdles; connections appear to have decided on a first try at this marathon trip after Wincanton - the gelding has shown his best form on decent ground.

Coup De Pinceau moved out to Nick Mitchell's yard in Dorset last December. On his second run for new connections Coup De Pinceau won over an extended three and a half mile trip at Taunton where he appeared to appreciate the hold-up tactics employed. Angus Cheleda claims a useful seven pounds. 

Chef D'Ouevre moved from Warren Greatrex to Sam England in 2018 and has clearly had his problems. He has undergone two wind operations in the past 18 months and had a spell of 606 days off the track. That said, when he made it to Haydock he appeared to like the place, winning there over three miles three and, on his latest start, over three miles four and a half furlongs; in the past he has run well on good ground. 

Sky Bet stood out offering 50/1 about this one in their first show yesterday; at the moment he's best-priced with Paddy Power who offer 30/1.

A quick mention in passing for Cool Mix who isn't totally disregarded but wouldn't be guaranteed to stay and for Dino Boy too who is eight pounds 'wrong' at the weights but has won over this distance previously and is owned by Mr & Mrs Raymond Anderson Green, winners of the prize in 2010 and 2012 with Merigo.

From the bigger priced runners the two considered are Some Chaos and Chef D'Oeuvre. 

Off a mark of 142 the former is a better fit with the profiles of previous winners and looks to have been trained specifically for the race; this is his first try beyond three and a quarter miles.    

Off a mark of 129 Chef D'Oeuvre races from two pounds out of the handicap but looks to have a respectable chance of seeing the trip out.

Some Chaos is the each-way suggestion, at the time of writing 20/1 with Betfred who pay 6 places.

Scottish Grand National 2018

The week after Aintree invariably throws up a selection of Grand National 'scrapes' generally encountered by the once-a-year punters - with runners, non-runners and reserves adding to the complications this time round.

It is with a certain degree of chagrin that I have to report my mother-in-law has been at it again - winning, that is. She backed Mon Mome at 100/1 in 2009 and she happened to be on Tiger Roll last Saturday at odds of 10/1.

Since the inception of this blog in 2006 my mother-in-law is showing an overall profit of 57.25 points; I'm seriously thinking of packing it all in and simply following her annual foray into the National market.

Percipient readers will have noticed I stated above that 'she happened to be on Tiger Roll' and therein lies a story.

Sent to the bookmakers to strike a number of bets for the extended family, my mother-in-law's runner, my father-in-law, was informed by the helpful assistant in the shop that her original selection, Thunder And Roses, was a non-runner; he should back Tiger Roll for her instead.

In terms of customer service it really doesn't get much better than that, does it?

The Times' theatre critic Ann Treneman wasn't quite so chuffed with the service afforded her when she walked into a William Hill betting shop in Bakewell, Derbyshire. Shown how to strike a £10 each-way wager on Milansbar, she was somewhat dismayed to discover later that William Hill only paid fifth place on wagers placed online.

Spare a thought though for this mother and her two daughters.

Mother backs Tiger Roll each-way single (wins); younger daughter backs Pleasant Company each-way single (second); elder daughter backs Bless The Wings each-way single (third). The tricast paid £9,439.25; the trifecta £68,670.00.

I did send a polite email earlier in the week enquiring why they hadn't informed me beforehand they were about to pull a stunt like that but, as of yet, I haven't received a reply.

If that's the sort of story that whets your appetite, tomorrow's Scottish Grand National (4.05 Ayr) is marginally easier with just 30 runners set to face the starter; the going is good, good to soft in places.

Last week a racing hack suggested layers would be targeting Flat fans after the Aintree Festival but in terms of turnover Coral rate the Scottish National their fourth best race after the Aintree National, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Derby.

Vicente has won the past two renewals and tries for the hat-trick off a mark four pounds higher than last year and with similar underfoot conditions.

Cogry was beaten a neck into second last year with Benbens a further two lengths adrift in third, Vintage Clouds seventh (beaten thirteen and threequarter lengths), Henri Parry Morgan ninth (beaten nineteen and a quarter lengths) and Straidnahanna pulled up. At the revised weights Cogry has it all to do to reverse placings with the winner (Jamie Balgary no longer claims three) but Benbens looks in the mix.

Vintage Clouds, second behind Ballyoptic in the Towton at Wetherby and then third in the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham, is respected off a mark seven pounds higher than last year; Sue Smith's gelding was the fourth reserve for the Aintree National last week but didn't get a run.

Two that caught my eye earlier were Looking Well and Doing Fine - or was it Looking Fine and Doing Well?

Anyway, there has been steady money for Neil Mulholland's charge Doing Fine - he's challenging for favouritism in some lists. He finished five and a quarter lengths behind Benbens in the London National last December; there's the suspicion Barry Geraghty left his mount with too much ground to make up that day. On a strict interpretation of the book the pairing look closely matched.

Looking Well's second to Ziga Boy in the 2017 Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster reads well; I backed him to follow up in the Grimthorpe at the same track five weeks later but he ran no race at all - an issue was subsequently discovered.

This term on his last run he came from off the pace and appeared to have the Edinburgh National in the bag approaching the last but he may well have been running on empty as he jinked, dumped Ryan Day on the ground and gifted a fortunate-looking victory to my selection Full Jack. The handicapper wasn't fooled - Nicky Richards' charge went up five pounds.

At the prices Looking Well makes more appeal but I'm concerned as both are hold-up horses and as a general rule of thumb those that race prominently have fared better in this event over the years.

A quick mention too for Irish runner Glencairn View who looks unexposed and could be anything; at the time of writing he's trading between 14/1 and 18/1.

Benbens is thirteen years old, pulled up last time out and is the least fancied of the three Twiston-Davies runners but on last year's running he looks in the mix and appears overpriced at 40/1 with Sky Bet (six places one fifth the odds).

However, on the better ground I'm going to chance that Looking Well can see out the trip and avoid any potential trouble in running.

Looking Well (20/1 Coral, one fifth the odds seven places) is the each-way selection.

Nicky Henderson holds a strong hand in the competitive-looking Ayrshire Hospice Land O'Burns Starlight Walk Handicap Hurdle (4.40) but one I expect to improve for the better ground is Burbank. He finished seventh in the Coral Cup, beaten seven lengths, and the handicapper has dropped him one pound for that effort. I'm not tempted by the 7/1 - 8/1 on offer this evening so I'll watch with interest.

An evening session

In the Racing Post this week Steve Dennis has written a series of articles ('Evening Sessions') looking at selected evening meetings from around the country; today's piece about Kempton bemoans the lack of atmosphere at the Surrey track.

Yesterday evening, for the first time in quite a while, I watched a race in a bookmaker's shop. If Steve thinks there's no atmosphere at Kempton, he should have been in the Coral shop where I managed to catch the second half of the 6.25 from Worcester.

As I departed the deserted premises, a voice from somewhere beyond the counter pointedly exclaimed, 'That'll be one pound please!'

The comment must have been aimed at me - there was no else in the shop.

Have to smile, don't you?

There will be no lack of atmosphere at tomorrow's evening meeting at Stratford.

In the opening novices' handicap hurdle I'll back Peter Bowen's Vinnie My Boy. In the Weekender Stable Tour (3-7 April 2013) the handler said of his charge, 'He is a very smart horse...[who] has been handicapped on his soft-ground form but is better on faster.' Since that comment the horse has run twice, finishing third on both occasions on good to soft and soft ground. He should get quicker ground here and the application of first-time cheekpieces should help the concentration. The tissue shows 8/1 about Vinnie My Boy so I'll take an each-way interest at that price, though probably not at the Coral outlet mentioned above...

Well Mett ran well on his first try over the the larger obstacles in a beginners' chase at Wetherby 11 days ago; he'll stay the trip but faces a jolly stiff task giving weight to more experienced rivals in the 6.45.

The Class 2 chase and hurdle (at 7.45 and 8.15) look pretty competitive but course and distance winner Up To The Mark would be of interest in the 8.45 provided first-time blinkers can work their magic.

Clondaw Draft looks the one to beat in the bumper.            

Coral-Eclipse day 2012

Ten have been declared for tomorrow's feature, the Coral-Eclipse run over ten furlongs at Sandown.

There has been plenty of rain around today and the temptation is to think the ground will ride heavy but so far Sandown seems to have missed much of the moisture - at the time of writing the going is described as good to soft.

So You Think won this last year but was declared a non-runner yesterday after suffering a setback; he has now been retired to stand at stud in Australia. His withdrawal makes this a completely different race.

Three-year-olds receive an eleven pounds allowance from their elders in the Eclipse but in the past decade only three of the younger generation have obliged: Hawk Wing in 2002, Oratorio in 2005 and Sea The Stars in 2009. This year's representatives are Bonfire and Cogito; the former was sixth in the Derby and hails from a stable in form but to my mind possesses a suspect temperarment while the latter has enough to find despite finding plenty of trouble in running behind Most Improved in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot two and a half weeks ago.

Farhh replaces Royal Ascot conqueror So You Think at the head of the market. The Godolphin colt looked unlucky in running that day; connections are on record as saying their charge would prefer cut underfoot and they look likely to get their wish. Another Godolphin runner, Monterosso, won the Dubai World Cup at Meydan in March but in the run-up to this connections have been decidedly downbeat. Nathaniel is a very talented individual and shown appropriate respect but the colt missed his intended comeback as the result of a dirty scope - this looks a tough ask on his seasonal debut. Cityscape has never won beyond nine furlongs but he has shown his best form on soft. I was considering two at each-way prices - Crackerjack King and previous winner Twice Over but neither wants the rain. Marco Botti's grey brings Italian form to the table while at the age of seven Twice Over looks unlikely to win - no horse older than five has won in over 50 years. Farhh looks the percentage call provided you buy into the Ascot hard luck story and he can reproduce a similar effort 17 days on; at the prices Crackerjack King is put up as a tentative each-way selection at around the 12/1 mark, although the ground appears to have gone against him.

All week I have been wondering whether to play in the following race, the Coral Marathon run over two miles plus at 4.20. Cavalryman is priced up favourite in the tissue but he's never been easy to catch right and is worth taking on. Chilberta King beat Aaim To Propser and Electrolyser a nose and two lengths in last year's renewal  - the first two look closely matched once again although on current handicap ratings Chilberta has five pounds in hand. Top-rated animal Glen's Diamond doesn't look guaranteed to stay while Mount Athos is of interest as is Thimaar having missed last week's Northumberland Plate on account of the heavy ground. Trappy indeed - earlier in the week I fancied Mount Athos but now the rain has arrived I'm far less confident - I think I'm going to watch from the sidelines... 

Three questions for a bookmaker on the 2012 Grand National

Earlier in the week, slumbering amongst the form books, somewhat unexpectedly I received an email suggesting I dreamt up three questions to ask Simon Clare [SC, @SiClare ], Director of Communications at Coral bookmakers and James Knight [JK, @jamesaknight ], Head of Racing at the same organisation.

Here's a transcript of the outcome; of course, the replies given generated more questions in my mind but that's the thing about email - it just so damned asynchronous.

PG: I see Coral are noticeably shorter about Junior and bigger about Sunnyhillboy than other layers - talk me through your thinking on those two horses.

SC: Our stance with Junior is based on the fact that he is always extremely popular with punters on the day every time he runs. He was a shocking result for us when he won at Royal Ascot and even worse when he won the Kim Muir at Cheltenham in 2011 – so we have taken the view we don’t want a big liability on him ante post, as he will be heavily backed in the day regardless.

We’re not hugely negative about Sunnyhillboy, he comes here in good form but we’d be happy to lay him in what looks an extremely competitive renewal of the race. There are literally more than 30 horses who could win the race.

PG: Between 14 and 19 have finished in the past four renewals but they were run on decent ground. Current indications are this year's race will be run on soft, possibly heavy ground, which is likely to have a marked effect on the number that finish. How will you price up that market this year?

SC:The ground rather than class of horse is the key factor in determining the number of finishers and that is what will drive our pricing. If it is genuinely soft ground or worse, which looks likely, then we could be looking at finishers in the single figures.

[I agree with Simon's view - Sky Bet's 13/8 under 11 finishers would be tempting if the going on the day comes up soft / heavy. PG]

PG: What is Grand National day like for a layer? Simon / James - what will you be doing on Grand National day?

SC: I'm lucky enough to be attending the event so I'll be spending the day in the thick of the action with our Coral TV camera crew and Chris Dixon. We'll be previewing live for Coral TV in the morning and then we'll all be enjoying the race.

JK:All of the form study is done, so National day is actually relatively quiet in the Trading room. We will spend the morning closely monitoring the risk position on the race, especially in the shops, as the turnover on the race is incredible – we almost take as much on this one race as we do on the entire Cheltenham festival. Near race time we will be assessing the position on the race and deciding whether to hedge any of our positions.

The last word to Coral spokesman David Stevens...

"AP McCoy and Synchronised could be the best backed National contenders since Red Rum won the last of his three Grand Nationals, and if the horse [wins]... bookies will face their most expensive day since Frankie Dettori rode all seven winners at Ascot, which cost the industry £40 million."

The Coral 2012 Cheltenham Festival preview evening at Haydock

Over the years, in very general terms, I've tended to give Festival preview evenings something of a wide berth on the grounds that you end up coming away with more tips than you can shake a stick at.

This year has been different on two counts. Firstly, I received a kind invitation to attend the Haydock event from sponsors Coral and secondly, given the form in the book, a surfeit of tips for the Championship races looked rather unlikely beforehand.

The panel, chaired in turn by AtTheRaces presenter Matt Chapman [MC] and Mick Fitzgerald [MF], consisted of Richard Johnson [RJ], Niall Hannity [NH], Simon Clare [SC from Coral Bookmakers] and Jason Maguire [JM] who, apparently, displayed admirable restraint on learning  his name had been misspelt in the souvenir programme... And, more or less, unanimous the panel were in their selections for the 'big four': Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle; Sizing Europe for  the Champion Chase; Big Buck's the World Hurdle and Long Run the Gold Cup following news of Kauto Star's 'pretty awful fall' on the Ditcheat gallops last week.

Matt Chapman's stentorian style (YeeeHaaa!) wouldn't necessarily have appealed to all patrons present but his piece in the programme was particularly pertinent - we hardly need preview nights as 'it all looks so easy...'

Of course, such thinking is dangerous and, where horses are concerned, nothing can ever be described as 'easy' otherwise we'd all have large amounts of cash in the bank. Still, the point Matt made is that he feels layers are 'wrong' to think they'll get a result from the big four; if an upset were to occur, going on past results, it's most likely to come in the Gold Cup.

Having arrived before most of the organisers, I had plenty of time to check out the lie of the land, get to know fellow bloggers and then tuck in to the slap-up meal. The event, somewhat delayed at the start, kicked off with a live phone call on a somewhat intermittent line to Nicky Henderson.

The news from Seven Barrows was that plenty of schooling would take place this weekend with AP riding, amongst others, Darlan and Barry Geraghty on board Simonsig. It was reported Geraghty is particularly keen that Simonsig goes for the Neptune on Wednesday rather than the Supreme. Connections felt Binocular was back to something like his best the last day at Wincanton (although Paul Nicholls felt Celestial Halo had not run to his mark) and will not be schooled. The biggest word was for Sprinter Sacre in the Arkle, described by his handler as a horse 'with tremendous presence' who 'likes showing off'. The trainer rates this one his best chance at the meeting but realised even money about one in a novice chase at the Festival wouldn't appeal to everyone so he put up Triolo D'Alene 'down in the handicaps'. This one is currently priced 7/1 favourite for the final race on the opening day but is also quoted 14/1 for Thursday's Byrne Plate - now, the line wasn't the best, but my understanding was Nicky had said he was in the Byrne, but I could be mistaken.

Other tips for the Supreme: SC - Darlan; JM Cinders And Ashhes; NH Sous Les Cieux; RJ Colour Squadron.

The panel sold the Arkle as possibly the race of the whole meeting. Having three rated in the 160s, (Sprinter Sacre 161, Peddlers Cross 160, Al Ferof 160) BHA handicapper Phil Smith considers this one of the best renewals in recent years. With Cue Card likely to make a strong gallop, JM indicated Peddlers Cross & co. will be out to get Sprinter Sacre off the bridle, pointing out the horse never came up the hill when finishing third in the Supreme last year. Questioned about Peddlers' jumping the last day, JM said the gelding had given hinself a fright at the first and was careful for a couple afterwards. MC joked that RJ would be asking his wife to check the medical insurance before he took the ride on Menorah but RJ described Menorah as 'one of his best rides of the week'.

Arkle tip: MF Sprinter Sacre - quote:  'I've never seen [Nicky Henderson] so excited by a horse.'

The value in the Champion Hurdle looked to be Overturn each way at 33/1 - tipped by RJ and described by JM as 'the toughest horse in racing I know'. A sceanrio was painted - plenty of the fancied contenders are hold-up horses - Overturn just could get an easy lead and who knows what might happen... NH liked Rock on Ruby who is considered on a par with Zarkander at Ditcheat.

In the Neptune on Wednesday: MC Make Your Mark, NH Boston Bob, RJ Simonsig (on good ground), SC Monksland (will be suited by better ground).

For the RSA discussion centred around whether Grands Crus would now be allowed to take his chance in the Gold Cup given Kauto is no better than 50/50 to run. RJ pointed out that Grands Crus' time in the Feltham (6.01.8s) was faster than Kauto Star's in the King George (6.05s). Bobs Worth will stay and I know several people are keen but MF had a big tip for Paul Nicholls' Join Together in the programme. MF said Bobs Worth 'doesn't travel as well as he used to.' NH tipped First Lieutenant.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase was seen as 'weak' with JM describing Sizing Europe as 'a certainty'.

There followed the charity auction where an overnight stay and trip for four people to Alan King's gallops went for £1,000 while a similar offering for two at Nicky Henderson's made £950. In the raffle I was fortunate enough to pick up the RP Cheltenham Festival Guide but fellow blogger James Yellen could only rue his luck as he missed four tickets to the Haydock races by one...

Unfortunately I had to leave shortly afterwards but not before I was told that layers had priced the market wrong for the Ryanair with Rubi Light one to avoid; make of that, or indeed any of this post, what you will.

It's worth mentioning Coral has appointed Jason Maguire and Paddy Brennan to be their Cheltenham ambassadors this year . A £100 wager has been placed on each of their mounts over the past week or so - up to last night £5850 had been raised for Racing Welfare; bets will continue to be placed throughout  Festival week with a minimum £10,000 guaranteed for the charity.

Finally, I'll share a couple of tips that were heard around our table only...

Calum Madell (theyoungracegoer.com) - check out his comprehensive review of the evening - holds a small share in Magnifique Etoile who goes in the County Hurdle on Friday. This one has decent form to his name including a third in the Tolworth behind Captain Conan and Colour Squadron as well as finishing ahead of Batonnier in a Fontwell bumper and behind Mountbazon in the Doncaster Spring Sales bumper. Callum tells me he could be seven to nine pounds well in - the gelding is best-priced 25/1 with Willliam Hill.

Over on the Flat blogger James Yellen (thestableview.wordpress.com) had a word for William Muir's Stepper Point who could turn out to be Kings Stand Stakes material.