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23 runners have been declared to run in the Scottish Grand National, which will be run over a gruelling four-mile trip at Ayr on Saturday afternoon. A horse will need to show the right balance between stamina, sturdy jumping and staying power to win this arduous race.
Dusart heads the field
The top weight in this year’s Scottish Grand National is Dusart, who runs for Nicky Henderson. He’ll be ridden by Nico de Boinville. On ratings, he’s the best in the race, but he’s not particularly fancied in the early betting.
A couple of firms, including Betfred and Skybet have the gelding priced at 16/1, which doesn’t look especially generous. William Hill and Coral go 18/1, while PaddyPower, Betfair and bet365 fancy his chances less at 25/1.
Too much weight or in with a chance?
So, the question is does Dusart have too much weight on his back? The answer is almost definitely. A rating of 154 means that Nicky Henderson’s gelding is the best of the bunch on official ratings, but that means he has to carry an awful lot of weight, which is not something that Scottish Grand National winners famously do. Dusart will carry 12 stone on Saturday, which is worrying given that none of the last ten winners of this race have carried more than 11 stone and three pounds.
The relatively unexposed chaser does have a decent record over fences, winning three from five, but he’s not looked the same horse since returning from wind surgery back in December, while he was pulled up at Cheltenham in January. Now has it all to do back in handicap company.
It’s not as if his trainer has a good record in this race either, winning, nor placing with any of his previous 15 runners. Back this one at your peril.
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