Scottish Grand National 2015 Preview

Trust in Trustan - Trustan Times can hit the frame in the Scottish National again.

Just one week removed from one National we have another one to sink our teeth in to this weekend as Ayr hosts the Scottish equivalent of Aintree’s famous race.

It’s a race that sees horses that either missed the cut at Aintree, didn’t get very far over the National fences the previous week or simply bypassed the race altogether for one reason or another brought back together for a shot at some form of consolation.

That’s not to say it’s a bad race by any means as the Scottish National is always a great watch, if not one the same level as Aintree.

There’s usually a high class horse in field topping the weights as well which means that, unlike Aintree where the handicap is compressed, we can end up with several horses running from outside the handicap.

This happened last year thanks to Tidal Bay’s presence and it looks set to happen again this year with at least one, perhaps both, of Gold Cup also rans Sam Winner and Houblon Des Obeaux likely to line up.

We’re still at a stage where the shape of the final field is far from clear at present, but I can only see the selection shortening when the field is announced on Thursday so I wanted to get him backed now as he looks a definite runner.

Grand National 2015 Preview

National Express - It's Grand National time again and there's a sense of deja vu with my selections.

It’s that time of year again.

This Saturday all eyes will be on Aintree as the Grand National takes centre stage. Each year, along with the people’s race comes my runner-by-runner guide and after some relative success in recent years with a stream of placed horses, I’ll be trying to go one better and actually pick out the winner this time around.

As always it’s the most difficult race of the year of which to find the winner, as even the best handicapped of horses with all the right attributes for the race can come unstuck thanks to lady luck deserting them, but that’s why it’s the spectacle it is and why it still remains, no matter what anyone says, the greatest horse race on the planet.

The main hope once again is of course that all the stars, both human and equine, return safely and healthily following the race, but whether you’re looking for a big bet, a horse to stick a small each-way bet on or just checking whether the horse you drew in the sweepstake is any good or not hopefully you’ll find this runner-by-runner guide to the 2015 Grand National helpful.

Below you will find the competitors for Saturday’s Grand National and my take on each of their merits and chances in the world’s greatest race.